


Gummy Bears In Your Pocket

by TwoBoys2Love



Category: Supernatural RPF, the cw - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Bottom Jensen, Bottom Jensen Ackles, Established Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, First Kiss, Hurt Jared Padalecki, J2, Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles - Freeform, Jealous Jensen Ackles, M/M, Top Jared, Top Jared Padalecki, Topping from the Bottom, UST, UST Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2018-12-09 17:01:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11673354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoBoys2Love/pseuds/TwoBoys2Love
Summary: Jensen is an actor on a small TV show, he doesn't have to stay in the closet, but it always seems a little bit easier. Besides, he's never met the right guy and he has Danneel to hang out with. That all changes one night when Jensen gets his jacket mixed up with someone else's.The problem is that sometimes you don't realize how things are until things change and you're not sure what to do about it.





	1. Are There Gummy Bears In Your Pocket?

**Author's Note:**

> One of the things that I enjoy about AO3 is having fics that are ongoing and post once a week. It gives me something to look forward to and I love it. So, I'm going to post this one a chapter at a time. It IS a work in progress. But I have yet to leave a fic unfinished. Trust me, one of the other things about AO3 is I know the frustration that I feel when someone no longer has the time to work on a fic without an ending! 
> 
> Come along for the ride if ya like! And any time you have ideas or thoughts I would love to hear them! You never know where inspiration will come from!

The club had been Danneel’s idea. Jensen would rather have been at home watching the game than sitting at a table by himself watching his best friend dance with the latest man who had asked her to dance. He loved Dani, she was the _best_ friend he’d ever had. Hell, if it weren’t for her, he wasn’t even sure what he’d be doing.

When they were in their twenties and Jensen had realized he was into guys, it had been Dani who had kept him sane. Why? Because you don’t come out when you’re a brand new actor with a tenuous recurring role on a show aimed at teenagers. At least, you didn’t then.

Maybe, it was a little easier for people as time went by. The thing was, Jensen was used to just being the way he was. He wasn’t hiding his sexuality, he just hadn’t met anyone who seemed _worth_ it. “Worth what?” Danneel had asked him once…. he’d always kind of hoped he would know it when he saw it.

And so - he gave in to Dani sometimes when she wanted to drag him to a club, or made him attend a party that was held by the network. People were always more excited about talking to her; she was the Maxim girl.

Danneel waved from the dance floor as her latest partner spun her under his arm. Her linen dress whirled around her like a cloud and Jensen shook his head fondly as he lifted his hand to wave. She really was beautiful, it was no wonder that people were drawn to her.

Dani motioned for Jensen to join them and Jensen widened his eyes and shook his head. Then her dance partner, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome turned and grinned at Jensen and held out his hand towards Jensen. 

A little uncertain, Jensen smiled weakly and gestured to his drink. The guy was nice looking, a little short for Jensen’s taste but he _could_ dance and Dani generally had good taste in men. 

The man threw up his hands and smiled then headed straight towards Jensen.

“Shit,” Jensen muttered. He fiddled with his drink for a couple of moments and kept his gaze pointed at the table.

“Hey!” The guy called out.

Jensen felt a strong hand on his shoulder and looked up to be greeted by eyes so dark brown they were almost black. “I’m Daniel, Danneel said you would dance with us.”

The man had an accent that Jensen couldn’t quite identify, probably one of those guys who had moved around a lot. He was cute, had a nice smile _and_ Dani was leaping around behind him like an idiot, making faces to show Jensen she thought the new guy was hot.  
Daniel held out his hand and Jensen took a deep breath, glared discreetly at Danneel then took the hand and allowed himself to be hauled up out of his seat.

The dance floor was a little crowded, but Jensen didn’t mind. It was always easier to stay anonymous in a crowd. Sure, he was on a small TV show, but the fans were a little over-committed at times. When Jensen got recognized, he always ended up signing autographs and taking photos, then people who didn’t know who he was would end up getting curious.

Daniel was a good dancer, laid back, good rhythm. Jensen hated it when guys had no rhythm. Of course, Dani was dancing her ass off, almost literally. She had her back to Daniel’s leg and was working her best assets. After a while, Jensen couldn’t help smiling as he loosened up a bit, and began to enjoy the music. He even joined in when Dani grabbed him and Daniel and pulled them into a tight little circle. Oh yeah, Daniel smelled good too.

As the songs changed, the beats melded together and the sweat began to dampen the back of Jensen’s t-shirt. He had a theory that clubs were always kept on the warm side to make sure that people ordered lots of drinks. Jensen glanced over his shoulder at the table, wondering if his drink was still there. The drink wasn’t there, but there were a few people sitting there.

He leaned into Danneel’s ear and yelled, “Gotta get our stuff!”

She nodded although Jensen wasn’t convinced she had actually heard what he said. Smiling, Jensen extracted himself from their little dance group and headed back to the table. A new group of people had taken over the table: a tall guy with short blonde hair and a mischievous look on his face, a petite woman with long, wavy brunette hair and huge brown eyes, and a man that Jensen definitely looked at for too long.

He was standing behind the woman, tall, probably taller than Jensen with shoulder length, dark brown hair. He seemed to be grinning at something the blonde guy had said and shoved at his shoulder. The guy had dimples and Jensen sighed; he loved dimples. “Excuse me, bud.”

The tall guy - _God, he had at least four inches on Jensen_ \- turned and grinned at Jensen and his dimples were in full force as he leaned down so he could hear.

Jensen cleared his throat and leaned closer. “My jacket. I left it here.”

The man leaned down so he could speak into Jensen’s ear. “Did we steal your table?”

Jensen barely managed to hide the shiver that caught hold of him when he heard the man’s voice so close to his ear. “It’s okay, I’ll just get my jacket.”

The man smiled again and stepped back so Jensen could lean in and grab his jacket off the back of his chair. He folded it over his arm and looked up at the dimpled guy. “Thanks,” he mouthed.

The man’s smile was amazing. It was one of those smiles that made Jensen feel happy… just because. He nodded and headed back to the dance floor.

When he glanced over his shoulder, Jensen could see that Dimples had returned his attention to the blonde guy… probably a couple. Jensen sighed.

Danneel crashed into Jensen’s side and slid her arms around his waist. “Come back and dance with us, Daniel likes you,” she said into Jensen’s ear.

When Jensen looked up he watched Daniel for a few moments as he swayed back and forth on the dance floor. His eyes were closed, he was singing along and his hair was all tousled and damp. He _was_ attractive. But… he was no tall guy with dimples and that made Jensen a little sad. He leaned down and kissed Danneel on the cheek. “I’m gonna head home.”

“Oh _come on_! No one here has bothered you...it’s fine.” Danneel was up on the tips of her toes, small hand curled over Jensen’s shoulder.

“It’s not that, Dani. I’m tired.” A white lie, to be sure, but Jensen didn’t want to ruin Danneel’s night.

His friend tilted her head and peered up at him as though she was trying to read his mind. She pressed her lips together and nodded once then leaned up again. “I’m tired too. Let’s call it a night.”

Jensen didn’t mind if Danneel stayed, but he knew that there would be no point in arguing with her. Once she had made her mind up about something, there was no changing it. Besides, even though Jensen knew that Dani could take care of herself, he liked to be the one who walked her back to her condo. His manager liked it too, it was always good for Jensen to be seen in public with a Maxim model, just in case anyone was paying attention.

They made their way to the door slowly; the place was packed and it was late enough that the party was in full swing. Jensen reached behind him and grabbed Danneel’s hand as they passed the busy bar; he didn’t want to lose her in the throng of people. When they finally made it to the door, Jensen was relieved.

They stumbled outside and Danneel nearly fell over a step. Fortunately, Jensen grabbed her and kept her on her feet. “Easy there, Tiger.”

Giggling, Danneel slipped her arm through Jensen’s and held on tightly. “I think I shouldn’t have had that third drink.”

“Probably not,” Jensen agreed. He leaned down again and kissed Danneel’s cheek because she was the best friend a guy could have. He might be single, but he was damned lucky when it came to friendships.

“What was that for?” Danneel asked as they began to walk down the street. They lived in the same building and it was only a few blocks away from the club.

“For being an awesome friend,” Jensen answered. He grinned and tucked Danneel under his arm to pull her in close. She fit perfectly and beamed up at him.

“Awww, you’re so sweet. Now if only you were straight!”

Jensen snorted and then laughed. They both knew the likelihood of Jensen _ever_ dating a woman was slim to none. He’s spent most of his life knowing that he was gay and there wasn’t much that seemed to change that. “If I were, I’d be the luckiest fucking guy in the world.”

“Hey!” A voice from behind them made Jensen walk a little faster. That last thing he wanted was to have to talk to a fan. He hadn’t been recognized all evening and he was enjoying his time with Danneel.

Of course, never one to pass up an opportunity, Danneel turned under Jensen’s arm and looked behind them. 

“Hey! Wait!”

Danneel pulled Jensen to a stop and looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. “Do you happen to know a very tall man with long hair and beautiful face?” 

“No.” Jensen tried to tug her forwards again because meeting male fans was always a little awkward and he really was tired.

Standing her ground, Danneel yanked on Jensen’s hand to keep him from walking away. “Well, he seems to want to know _you_.”

When Jensen finally turned around, he closed his eyes for a moment and plastered a smile on his face. When he opened them, he watched as the tall man, the one with the dimples from the bar, jogged up to them. “I didn’t think you heard me.”

“Jensen was pretending he didn’t,” Danneel offered helpfully. She held out her hand and flashed a smile full of perfect white teeth up at Dimples. “I’m Danneel, this is Jensen. You are…”

“Oh sorry… I’m Jared. Nice to meet you both.”

A small, sharp elbow jammed into Jensen’s side and he jumped slightly. “Ow. I’m... yeah. We met; you stole our table.”

Looking a little concerned, Jared chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. “I didn’t mean to, there was no one there. That’s not why you left, is it? ‘Cause you guys can join us if you like.” He gestured back to the club down the street.

Jared made eye contact with Jensen and just stared at him like, somehow, he already knew him. It was a little crazy but Jensen wrote it off to the drinks he’d had earlier. Nevertheless, it was hard ignoring the hazel eyes that were gazing at him. “It’s all good. I’m tired. Long day.”

“Okay… well, anyway. Do you happen to have gummy bears in your pocket, Jensen?”

“Excuse me?” Jensen frowned and looked down at Danneel briefly before looking back at Jared.

“Is that code for something naughty?” Danneel asked. She was grinning and her fingers were tapping on Jensen’s back playfully.

 _Code_ , really? Jensen tried hard not to roll his eyes and made a note to tell Danneel off later. “I don’t eat candy,” Jensen finally said. Because, what the _hell_ do you say to that. It’s not a pickup line or a way to make friends… it was, quite honestly, one of the strangest things he’d ever been asked.

“Code? Oh God, no. _No_. I mean… wow! That was not what I intended,” Jared said as he rubbed at the blush that was crawling up his cheeks. He looked like he was hoping a hole would open up underneath him and extricate him from a painful situation.

“Don’t embarrass the man, Dani. He’s not hitting on me or anything.” Jensen looked up at Jared and smiled in a way he hoped would make the guy feel a little better. “Don’t worry, she’s an acquired taste.”

“Oh thank god,” Jared said quickly and he really did look relieved. “I thought you meant I was hitting on you, Danneel. And I wouldn’t… I mean, if I were straight I would, ‘cause you’re beautiful. But I’m not… I should really stop talking.”

It was Jensen’s turn to blush and he rolled his lips together to stop his smile from getting too big. After all, it was rare that a man he found attractive was actually gay. Sure his first instinct had been that Jared was with the blonde guy who’d been at the table but he’s been wrong _many_ times. 

“Oh don’t worry,” Danneel said cheerfully. “I’m used to being a wallflower next to Jensen. Good thing I’ve got a very strong ego.” 

“Did you need something besides gummy bears?” Jensen asked. He really wanted to let Jared extract himself from the situation. “I’m sure you wanted to get back to your boyfriend.”

Looking a little confused, Jared smiled again and the tip of his tongue appeared beneath his top teeth.

Jensen swallowed.

“Oh, Chad? He’s not … _no way_. He’s not my boyfriend,” Jared said finally. “And I want my jacket. We both have denim jackets and I think you took mine by mistake.” Jared held out a denim jacket that did look a lot like Jensen’s.

“Oh, Jesus. I’m sorry.” Jensen held out the jacket that was still folded over his arm towards Jared. When Jared took it, his fingers brushed Jensen’s wrist and if Jensen were a betting man he’d say that the move was deliberate.

Jensen grabbed his jacket and checked his pocket for his phone. He definitely would have panicked when he got home and discovered he didn’t have it.

“You have good taste in jackets,” Jared said as he slid his hand into the pocket and pulled out a paper bag. He opened the top of it and offered it to Danneel. “Gummy bear?”

Picking up a red bear and popping it into her mouth, Danneel grinned at Jared as she chewed. “You are adorable, Jared. Isn’t he adorable, Jensen?”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” Jensen muttered under his breath.

“Jensen?” The bag appeared in front of Jensen and he peered down into it. It really was a bag of gummy bears.

“No...thanks. I - No.” Jensen took a deep breath and grabbed Danneel’s hand to tug her into motion again.

“He gets in these moods where he thinks he needs to watch what he’s eating,” Danneel said as she tried to resist being pulled away. “I think he’s hot just the way he is but I mean-”

“Danneel!” Jensen interrupted. There were times when Danneel’s mouth got a little bit ahead of her judgment and this was quickly turning into one of them. Jensen held up his jacket and smiled apologetically at Jared. “Sorry...she’s drunk. But thanks for my jacket. I really would have been pissed off when I realized I’d lost my phone.”

Putting the bag of candy back in his pocket, Jared shrugged and smiled at Jensen. “I think you look great, for the record.”

“Uh, thanks,” Jensen answered without being able to tear his gaze away from Jared’s. He could seriously get lost in those eyes and that was dangerous.

“Hello? Still here,” Danneel interjected as she pinched Jensen’s side.

“Sorry,” Jensen said quickly. He blinked a few times to clear his mind and smiled down at Danneel. “Let’s get going.”

“Nice to meet you, Jared,” Danneel said brightly as she turned to walk away.

“Wait,” Jared said. He reached out and grabbed Jensen’s wrist and pulled him to a stop.

It was a little surprising the way Jared’s fingers wrapped so easily around Jensen’s wrist and his hand was warm, a little hot actually. Jensen licked his lips and turned back to look up at the man holding his wrist. “Did you...forget something?”

“Look,” Jared began. “I don’t normally do this, and now that I’ve said that I realize it sounds like a line. But it’s not. Honestly. Anyway, can I have your number? Coffee… we could go for coffee or something. I’d really like that. If you’d like to that is.”

When Jared finished speaking his eyes moved from Jensen’s eyes to his lips and back again and he took a deep breath and blew it out. He was nervous and it was cute as hell. With his free hand, he brushed his hair back from his face.

Jensen was quiet, staring at Jared and trying to get his lungs to keep working.

“I think that is Jensen’s extremely quiet way of saying that he would be glad to give you his number, Jared.” 

Jensen nodded, never more thankful for Danneel than he was in that moment.

“Jared? Phone.” Danneel ordered.

Without letting go of Jensen’s wrist, Jared slung his jacket over his shoulder and reached into the back pocket of his jeans. He pulled out his phone, unlocked it and handed it to Danneel without taking his eyes of Jensen’s. 

“There’s a coffee shop near where I work. Great espresso. We could maybe meet there sometime. Like tomorrow… or…” Jared shrugged and his thumb rubbed back and forth over Jensen’s wrist.

“You’ll text him,” Danneel said. “His number is in your contacts under Ackles.”  
“Well, it was very nice to meet you, Jensen Ackles,” Jared said as he finally let his fingers slip off of Jensen’s wrist. He took his phone from Danneel and slipped it back into his pocket. He began to walk backward slowly, still smiling at Jensen. “I’ll text you.”

“Please do,” Jensen said. He couldn’t help the smile that was on his face as he grabbed Danneel’s hand and turned to begin the walk home.

After a few steps, Jensen glanced over his shoulder and waved because Jared was still watching them. 

“You’re welcome,” Danneel said as she tucked herself back under Jensen’s arm and pulled his hand over her shoulder.

“Don’t be smug,” Jensen said but the grin on his face was a dead giveaway for how happy he was. _A date with Dimples._

“Jared is a nice name,” Danneel said thoughtfully.

“It is.”


	2. Bean Here Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> J2 is always the end goal - so never worry about that :D

“He’s gonna hate me.”

“Oh, shut up, Jensen.” Danneel rolled her eyes and continued flipping through the shirts hanging in Jensen’s closet.

“I’m not all that interesting.”

“No, but I will dress you as though you are.”

“Not helpful.” Jensen ran his hands over his hair for the hundredth time as he looked in the mirror. He was standing there in his Saxx boxers thinking that he should work out more.

“I do not exist to enable your lack of self-esteem to continue. You are an attractive, intelligent, marginally talented man.”

When Jensen turned around to tell Dani off for teasing him while he was at his weakest, he was greeted by her beautiful grin and a plain white v-neck t-shirt. “Seriously? You think I should wear that?”

“Honey, you do _not_ need any decorating. You’re hot just the way you are.” As Danneel headed over to the mirror, she ran her hand over Jensen’s chest. “But, sadly, you can’t go for coffee shirtless. This shirt is the second best choice.” She pressed the t-shirt into Jensen’s hand and headed over to his dresser.

Sometimes, Jensen wondered about his sanity. If he couldn’t muster up some confidence with a friend like Danneel around then there was no hope for him.

“I don’t even know what he does for a living, Dani,” Jensen said after tugging the t-shirt down over his head.

“Who cares?” Danneel pulled out a pair of black jeans and tossed them onto the end of the bed.

“What if we have nothing in common?”

“Impossible. He’s fit. You’re fit. There’s always working out.” Danneel sank down onto Jensen’s bed and tucked her bare feet under her ass. She’s come straight to Jensen’s after Pilates so she was in yoga pants and a crop top with her hair all piled up on her head. It was cute, but Dani was blessed with the cute gene.

“Lovely, we can talk about the treadmill, that will be entertaining,” Jensen said.

“You’re overthinking everything. Just go, be yourself and have fun. Besides…” Danneel winked. “You’ve always got me.”

“Great.”

“Just keep thinking _dimples_.” Danneel’s eyes widened and she flashed a toothy grin at her best friend.

-=-=-=-

By the time Jensen arrived at _Bean Here Before_ he was already sweating. It was warm out but he had a feeling it was nerves. It had been a very long time since Jensen had been on a date and coffee shops were a bit of a gamble. If Jared didn’t know who Jensen was already, he might before they even got their drinks.

Jensen shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and peered in through the coffee shop window. There was no sign of Jared, it should be pretty easy to spot the guy.

“What the _hell_ am I doing?” Jensen muttered under his breath.

“Hopefully, looking forward to seeing me.”

Jensen looked up so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash. “Jared!”

Jensen blinked a few times and smiled weakly. If he had thought Jared was attractive the night they’d met then he was going to have to find a new level of descriptive adjectives. The man looked amazing. He was wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his muscular forearms, tight blue jeans and sneakers. He was sporting aviator sunglasses that made it tricky to see his eyes even though his hair was freshly washed and tucked back behind his ears.

The smile on Jared’s face was subtle and warm. “You look _really_ great, Jensen.”

“Danneel dressed me.” It took a moment for Jensen to realize what he’d said. “Well, she didn’t _dress_ me.”

 _Great._ Things were off to an amazing start. It might actually be a record for Jensen to have put his foot in his mouth by the second sentence.

Jared’s smile widened into a grin and he chuckled. “I knew what you meant. Shall we?” He gestured towards the door of the coffee shop.

When Jensen stepped inside, he was relieved to feel air conditioning. He took in the surroundings quickly and was pleased that he didn’t find anyone looking at him as though they recognized him. It was a relief and Jensen began to relax a little.  
The place wasn’t too busy and it only took a few minutes for them to get their drinks and find a booth. As he slid onto the bench, Jared hooked his sunglasses into the unbuttoned V of his dress shirt. “You’re not a sweet guy?”

“Excuse me?” Jensen almost spilled his coffee.

Jared pointed at the mug in front of Jensen. “Black coffee, no sugar.”

“Oh.” Smiling, Jensen got comfortable and took a sip of coffee then tried to get himself together. He _was_ capable of having a normal conversation. He was an actor, he should be able to at least _act_ calm and collected. “How was your day?”

“Good. I had the early shift at work so I had plenty of time to go home and get ready before I walked here.” Jared picked up his napkin and folded it in half.

“Where do you work?” Questions were good, Jensen could deal with asking questions and getting to know a little more about Jared.

“I work at the animal shelter a couple blocks north of here: Safe Haven,” Jared said.

“Hey! I’ve seen ads for that place on TV, the uh, the ones with that hilarious Bulldog. What’s his name again?”

“Willard,” Jared answered. He chuckled and looked a little embarrassed. “We didn’t come up with his name, he came with it when he was dropped off.”

“How do people do that?” Jensen asked.

“What? Give up their pets?”

“Yeah.” Jensen nodded and curved his hands around his coffee cup. He remembered the commercial because there was footage from the day the Bulldog had arrived at Safe Haven. His owners had moved to a new building that didn’t allow pets so they had shown up and dropped the dog off like yesterday’s garbage.

Shaking his head, Jared leaned back and stretched his legs out under the table. “I can take a lot of things but any kind of cruelty to animals just makes me feel sick. I could never give up a pet, they’re like family.”

“You got pets?”

Jared grinned and it lit up his face. “I have a Border Collie, Lexi.”

“Wow, those are pretty high maintenance dogs, right?”” Jensen didn’t know a lot about dogs but he figured that was pretty common knowledge.

“Yeah, she’s a good girl though. I take her to herding classes and I run with her every day.”

“So you run?” Such a short time in and Jensen had already hit the last resort: fitness. It kind of made him want to strangle Danneel.

“Yeah, I try and stay in shape. From what I’ve seen you do too.” Jared’s smile softened and he tilted his head slightly.

Jensen was sure he was blushing again. Usually, he didn’t blush very often but Jared seemed to be able to bring it on quite quickly. But, he could feel he was beginning to relax, so that was good. Maybe, all dates started off the same way.

As the afternoon passed, they covered the standard territory. They were both Texas boys, they’d both moved to Los Angeles for work, their families sounds pretty similar; they both had an older brother and younger sister. It wasn’t until they got to the topic of Jensen’s career that he found the conversation more challenging.

“So, the show is about hunting evil stuff basically?” Jared asked with a slightly amused expression on his face.

“I know, it sounds weird, but it is a great premise. I get to do a lot of my own stunts and the pay is great.” He wasn’t embarrassed about what he did, there was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t exactly Oscar worthy.

“I’m not being critical, I don’t watch much TV. I guess that’s why I didn’t recognize you.” 

“Nah, you’re the wrong demographic.” Jensen knew a lot about the audience for the show and Jared really didn’t seem like the type to watch it.

“I think you’re pretty interesting, if I’d known you were on TV I would have checked you out before our date.” There was a cute, flirty smile on Jared’s face.

The last thing that Jensen wanted was Jared watching his show. He was nothing like his character and it was actually pretty great that Jared had never seen it. At least Jensen knew that the man sitting across from him was interested just because of who he was. “Don't watch it. You’ll be bored.”

Jared leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I highly doubt that.”

There was already a blush creeping up Jensen’s neck and he felt it bloom on his cheeks. “Are you _flirting_ with me, Jared?”

“That’s what I was aiming for,” Jared answered quickly.

“Well, that’s how I’m interpreting it.” Jensen grinned and shook his head.

It must have been the right answer because Jared’s smile broadened until his dimples popped into existence once again. Jensen shook his head and looked down at his coffee.

“Hey, you wanna get out of here? Go for a walk somewhere?”

“Yeah,” Jensen agreed easily. He definitely didn’t want the date to be over. “That’d be great. I’ve got my truck.”

-=-=-=-

They settled on a walk near the Observatory. There was a beautiful sunset beginning and the evening was finally cooling off.

Jensen locked his truck and slipped the keys into his pocket.

“I always thought actors had fancy cars", Jared said behind Jensen’s shoulder.

A little shiver skittered down Jensen’s spine and he stepped back slightly as he turned around. Jensen smiled because it felt impossible to look up at Jared’s face without smiling.“I like to drive too fast." 

Jared glanced over Jensen’s shoulder at the truck and frowned. “ _That_ goes fast?”

Jensen shook his head. “Nope. That’s exactly the point.”

Jared tilted his head slightly when he looked back at Jensen. “Let me get this straight. You like going fast so you deliberately buy a vehicle that guarantees you can’t.”

“Correct.” Stepping around Jared, Jensen started walking down the dirt path ahead of them. He heard Jared laugh behind him as he caught up.

When Jared fell into step beside Jensen, he bumped their shoulders together. “You know that makes you seem a little crazy, right?”

“Crazy? I think it makes me a responsible adult.” The last thing Jensen needed was a speeding ticket. With his luck, that would be the time the media was paying attention to him.

“Scary words when put together. Responsible and adult.“ As they walked down a small hill; Jared leaned down and snapped off a piece of tall grass.

“You one of those guys who refused to grow up?” As far as Jensen was concerned, Jared seemed entirely too perfect so it wouldn’t surprise him if the guy had a fault or two.

“Nah. I have a dog; I have to be responsible.” Jared stuck the end of the grass in the corner of his mouth.

“That’s the only reason?” Jensen stumbled slightly and felt Jared’s hand on the small of his back. It was warm and Jensen bit down on his bottom lip to hide his smile.

“There are some great things about being an adult. I can do what I want. I get to do a kick-ass job. Let’s see... I can drink legally, smoke a little weed.” Jared winked when Jensen looked up at him.

“Sex,” Jensen added. There were times when he wished that his brain would catch up with his mouth.

“That too, although I’m not sure I was very adult the first time,” Jared said softly. His hand fell back to his side and he looked out over the city as they continued walking.

“How old were you?” Falling back on questions again, Jensen peered up at Jared.

“Oh no, we’re not playing that game.” Jared chuckled quietly and pushed at Jensen’s shoulder. “We’re too old for truth or dare.”

“Coward,” Jensen teased.

“No, I’m just smart enough to avoid it.” Jared let his hand trail down Jensen’s arm, over his wrist and then he hooked his index finger around Jensen’s.

Rolling his bottom lip under his teeth, Jensen looked up at Jared and smiled slightly.

The sound of a girl's laughter drifted up the trail ahead of them and Jensen pulled his hand away as he stepped to the side. 

For a few seconds Jared looked a little confused, then he stepped off the path as a group of women appeared from the corner ahead of them. “Hi there.”

The women answered in a chorus of hellos and good evenings and Jensen nodded as Jared smiled. One of the women turned and flashed an appreciative grin at them over her shoulder. Jensen sighed and began walking again.

He could hear Jared walking behind him and slowed down slightly.

“Can I ask you something, Jensen?” 

“Of course.” There was no reason for Jensen to clam up; the evening had been going pretty well as far as he was concerned. All things considered, he might not even have a full blown meltdown if Jared were to suggest they meet up again and that was a nice feeling.

“Are you out?” 

Jensen’s step faltered as he glanced up at Jared quickly before looking back down at the path. “What?”

“Out. You’re an actor, you have a very public life I’m guessing; do people know that you’re gay?” 

It was difficult for Jensen to read Jared’s expression; he suspected the man had a very good poker face. It wasn’t an unfair question, but Jensen couldn’t help wondering if it was coming up pretty early. They were on their first _date_ and there’d been no suggestion yet that they meet again. Things were going well enough that Jensen figured Jared deserved at attempt at an answer. “Out as in… have I made some big speech about my sexuality?”

Jared shrugs his broad shoulders and pressed his lips together for a few moments looking thoughtful. “I don’t think it necessarily has to be a dedicated event or something like that.”

“Fair enough. I guess it’s just never really come up then.” Jensen smiled slightly and took a deep breath as casually as he could. For some reason he couldn’t quite identify, the line of questioning was making him a little nervous.

“Never? You don’t go to award shows or do press engagements? Nothing like that?” There was a bench just off the path and Jared gestured towards it then waited for Jensen to step off the path.

“Of course I do. It’s all part of the job,” Jensen answered. He wasn’t sure what Jared was getting at but he had a feeling he was going to find out. For the first time since he’d met Jared that afternoon, he found himself wishing that Danneel was there. She always seemed to know just what to say to people.

Jared sat down on the bench and waited for Jensen to sit next to him. He leaned back and stretched his legs out as he looked out over the lights of L.A. “You go to the People’s Choice Awards?”

“Yeah,” Jensen answered with a smile. “We have fans who like to vote their asses off and we were nominated. Danneel and I even got to walk the red carpet. She’s a natural.” It had been a great night. Danneel had looked amazing in a long gown, midnight-green she had called it, and it had a plunging neckline that has garnered a lot of attention from the paparazzi.

“She was your date?” Jared asked casually.

“Yeah. She’s my best friend. That’s who I was with the other night when we met.”

“I remember. She’s gorgeous,” Jared answered. After he sighed, he turned to face Jensen and pulled his leg up onto the bench between them. “So, you’ve never gone to an event like that with a man?”

“No. I guess I’ve never been seeing anyone. I’m sure my agent would have a fit anyway.” Entirely too late, Jensen realized how he sounded. “I haven’t ever gone out of my way to hide my sexuality or anything. I mean, I’m not like that.”

“You’re not?”

Feeling a little surprised, Jensen sat back slightly. “You can’t seriously think that I’m... I’m out here with you, aren’t I? We met at a public coffee shop. I was… I was dancing with a guy in the club the night I saw you.” Okay, the last part might be a slight exaggeration because he wouldn’t have been up on the dance floor at all if Danneel hadn’t been right there with them.

Jared ran his hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “Look, I’m not judging you or anything. It’s just that… I don’t want to take steps backward, you know?” 

Feeling a little taken aback, Jensen scratched at the stubble that was already appearing on his chin and looked out over at the city. “Feel free to be as out as you want, Jared. I’m not judging you either. We’re on our first date, you don’t even know me.”

When Jared was silent a little too long, Jensen turned and looked at him. There was a slight smile on his face, but his eyes didn’t look as bright as they had earlier in the evening. “You’re right, Jensen. I don’t. I guess that’s what I was trying to do. Get to know you.”

“Well, there. Now, you know,” Jensen said in a tone he hoped wasn’t cold.

“I guess,” Jared answered. He was quiet for a while, turned back towards the view and clasped his hands together in his lap.

“I have to be back on set tomorrow,” Jensen offered. He figured that Jared was looking for an excuse to go. That was the awkward part of accepting a ride from someone; you were stuck until they decided to leave. “I should probably get home or I won’t be ready when my driver shows up.”

Jared looked over at Jensen and there was another unreadable expression on his face. Finally, he reached over and squeezed Jensen’s arm before standing. “Sure, no problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know who's going to kick Jensen's ass for this, right? :)


	3. I Fucked Up, Okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We knew he would get his ass kicked!

“Have you completely lost your mind?” Danneel’s arms were folded across her chest and she had that whole hip-stuck-out, chin-jutting-forward, attitude going on. It was slightly terrifying.

Jensen sighed and sank down onto his couch. He’d just finished explaining how he and Jared had gone through half an hour of excruciating small talk on the drive back to the cafe. It had just added insult to injury when Jared had asked to be dropped off where they’d met up rather than at his home.

Although he’d been prepared for Danneel to be pissed off, Jensen had hoped for her to come down solidly on _his_ side rather than Jared’s. That wasn’t quite how things seemed to be going.

“What exactly are you objecting to, Dani? The fact that Jared thinks I’m some sort of closeted homophobe or that-”

“-No. The fact that you don’t even recognize why he would be worried.” Danneel looked pretty pissed off which wasn’t a particularly new thing, but Jensen wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of it. “All you did, from the sound of it, was behave all defensive and stubborn.”

“Defensive? _That’s_ what you take away from all of this? I have nothing to be defensive about!” It was beginning to feel as though Jensen was having to relive the entire conversation again. Once had been enough.

Things got even worse because Danneel’s expression softened and her shoulders slumped. It was the same look she got on her face when she watched videos on YouTube about abused animals that had been rescued and found their _forever homes_.

“Jensen, honey. Just try and see it from his perspective. All he knows is that you’re an actor and you _date_ me when you’re out in public.” After giving Jensen another you’re-a-wounded-puppy look, Danneel headed over to sit on the couch beside Jensen.

“I’m not dating you, Danneel. Isn’t that part at all important?” There were some things that were crystal clear to Jensen. _Dating_ was not what he and Danneel did. It was a bit of a mystery to Jensen why no one else seemed to be able to see that.

Danneel’s slim fingers slid into Jensen's hand and she pulled it onto her lap and held on tightly. “What if you were seeing Jared and there was some Gala event for you to go to?” Her bright pink nails tapped against the back of Jensen’s hand. “Honestly.”

What would he do? He’d take Jared. Of course, he would. Well, he’d probably talk to his Agent, just to see what he thought. Maybe he’d call someone else in the biz. Someone like Jeff Morgan. He’d know what the best way was to deal with it.

 _It._ Jesus.

“Jensen?”

“What?”

“You’re not saying anything.”

“I’m thinking.”

“About?” Danneel pulled her feet up onto the couch and leaned against Jensen’s side. “Jared?”

Jensen shrugged and tugged his hand free so he could curl his arm around Danneel’s shoulders. “Jared. What to do about… this. Trying to figure out what _this_ even is.”

Quiet for a while, Danneel leaned heavily into Jensen’s side. “Who would you rather take to the next red carpet?”

Jensen pressed his lips together and let his head fall back. It was surprisingly easy to answer. He adored Dani, always had, but if he could go back to the beginning of his coffee date with Jared. Yeah, that’s the person he’d want to take with him. “I think he would look better in a tux.”

“Probably,” Danneel answered thoughtfully. “How about we work on that then?”

“Getting him in a tux?” The thought itself set the smallest blossom of heat alight in the middle of Jensen’s chest.

“Yeah.”

“How do I start?”

“Apologize?” Danneel looked up at Jensen with wide eyes.

“For what?” Jensen still wasn’t quite sure what he’d done. Jared had made some pretty wide-sweeping assumptions about him and Jensen had just responded.

Danneel pushed away from Jensen’s side and turned to face him. “Let’s start again from the beginning.”

-=-=-=-

**_Jensen_ ** _: Can we get together?_

Jensen waited two days before he texted Jared. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to talk to him, or even because he was trying to avoid apologizing. It just felt like the whole situation had gotten away from him. Jensen liked being in control of things and he was absolutely _not_ in charge of what was happening between them.

Staring at his phone, Jensen sat on his couch and waited for Jared to answer. It had been a long day of filming and he was tired, he should be in bed but he already knew that he’d just be lying there staring at the ceiling and checking to see if the volume on his phone was up.

When his phone chimed, Jensen leaned forward and snatched it off the coffee table. 

_**Jared** : Sorry, man. I’m pretty busy this week._

“Man?” Wow. Things had really deteriorated since their coffee date. Jensen’s hope was that a little humor might lighten things up.

_**Jensen** : I didn’t even tell you when. Are you giving me a hint? :) Too scared to tell me my wit & charm is overwhelming?_

There was no reply for a while and Jensen finally set his phone down beside him. He supposed it was possible that Jared could just be genuinely busy although the little devil sitting on his shoulder told him that wasn’t likely.

The phone rang and Jensen jumped slightly. When he picked it up Jared’s name was on the call display so he tapped the screen. “Hello there.”

“Hi,” Jared said quietly.

Jensen could hear the sounds of traffic, it sounded like Jared was out on the street somewhere. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” Jared answered after a couple of moments. “Listen, I didn’t want to do this over text but I don’t think you and I should see each other again.”

A cool sensation slithered down Jensen’s shoulders. He hadn’t expected that. Well, maybe in the darkest recesses of his mind he’d been worried about the possibility but he’d hoped that the first 80 per cent of their date would be what Jared based his choices on. Jensen cleared his throat. “Okay. Uh, can I ask why?”

Jared sighed, and there was some strange noise that sounded like he was adjusting the phone. “I just think we’re at different points in our lives, Jensen. I’m - I’m completely out at work and with my friends and family. You’re not there, and I can respect that, but I don’t wanna go back there. It wasn’t a happy place for me.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Jensen said while he tried to collect his thoughts. “We didn’t even talk about some of that. My family knows I’m gay, Jared and so do my close friends. Maybe… maybe we could just get together to talk about this before you write me off.”

Jensen wasn’t going to beg, but he liked Jared. In fact, he liked Jared a lot more than anyone else he’d gone on uncomfortable first dates with. There was just something about the guy that was inviting and sweet… and he was hotter than hell.

“Jensen, I don’t think so. Don’t take this too personally, okay? I mean, I’m not even living the same kind of lifestyle as you,” Jared said. His voice was still quiet and then the noise of the traffic and people seemed to get quieter. 

“Jared, I’m not gonna beg for a second date. I have _some_ pride. Look… I just really wanted to apologize. That’s why I texted you in the first place. If you’re not going to meet up with me then I guess I’ll just do that here. I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared for questions about being public about being gay… and... I mean I fucked up, okay? I suppose I’m not _out_ , but that doesn’t mean I can’t be in the future. Honestly, Jared, it’s just never come up. I haven’t even… I mean, I’ve dated men but there’s been no one in my life to the point where I’ve even considered being in the public eye with them.” Jensen took a deep breath and blew it out away from the phone. He’d worked on his apology about a thousand times and yet, everything he’d said came out of nowhere once he’d started talking.

All Jensen could hear was the strange and distant hissing of traffic and Jared’s breath and it was a little eerie. At least Jared hadn’t hung up on him; that had to be a good thing. “It’s all good, Jensen. Thanks for that.”

“So, can we meet and talk more about it? Please, before you delete me from your contacts.” Jensen tried to sound as cheerful as he could, but he was still on uncertain ground. Jared seemed okay with the apology but that didn’t really mean he’d changed his mind about seeing him again.

Jared sighed into the phone and it sounded like he started to walk. “I really am busy this week. I’m working nights because one of the other staff is off sick-”

 

“I’ll probably be done filming by seven tomorrow night, what if I stop by your work and you take a coffee break? Maybe I could meet Lexi and you could let her decide if I’m worth a second date.”

Jared laughed softly and Jensen heard, what sounded like a door opening, then it was quieter wherever Jared was. “That’s not fair. All you’d have to do is give her a treat off the counter and she'd be your friend for life.”

The laugh bolstered Jensen’s confidence. It was hopeful. “Come on, Jared. You seem like a brave guy. Give me a chance. Let me at least try and explain myself and then you can ignore me if you want.” Jensen closed his eyes and listened to the brief silence on the other end of the phone.

“Okay, _okay_. Come by Safe Haven tomorrow night. I’ll have Lexi here. But I won’t get a break until 8 so come then,” Jared said quickly. “Now, I’ve really gotta go ‘cause I’m back at work and a cat just puked all over my work station.”

“Wow, sounds like fun. I’ll see you tomorrow night, Jared… and thank you,” Jensen said. 

“See you tomorrow. Bye.” The phone went quiet in Jensen’s hand and he smiled. 

-=-=-=-

Jensen spent a very long day on set. It wasn’t that work was uninteresting, he was just distracted. He kept finding himself running over what he wanted to say to Jared and all the possible ways that it could go wrong.

By the time he got back to his condo, he was convinced he had it all worked out and knew exactly what he was going to say to Jared. He also knew that would probably all go to shit once he was standing in front of Jared.

Jensen took an extra long shower and dressed in his favorite jeans and an old flannel shirt. He’d stolen it from wardrobe a couple seasons back because it was soft and comfortable. He was trying to just be himself; it seemed like a really good idea.

He left the condo early enough to make sure he had time to find parking. He’d looked up Safe Haven online so he had the address; the wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

When he found himself standing outside the shelter about ten minutes early, he wasn’t sure whether he should go in or not. The decision was made for him when a woman emerged carrying a small dog. She held the door open for him and smiled; so, Jensen went in. 

There was a small waiting room with several chairs and a huge bulletin board on one wall. It was covered in bright posters about animal welfare, adoption tips, and volunteer opportunities. There was a window cut into the closest wall for reception and there was a petite blonde behind it.

“Hi there,” she said. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Jensen’s face. “Wait. Are you-”

“- I’m here to see Jared,” Jensen said quickly.

“Well. When Jared said a _Jensen_ might be stopping by, I didn’t think it would be Jensen Ackles.” She leaned on the reception counter and grinned. “I’m Alona.”

Putting on his best smile, Jensen walked over to her and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Alona.”

She shook his hand and reached for the phone. “Don’t worry, I’m not a crazy fan. But, I have a twelve-year-old niece who’s going to be _really_ jealous when I tell her I met you.”

Jensen smiled as Alona called through to Jared’s office to let him know his visitor had arrived. When she put the phone back down, Jensen cleared his throat. “Would you like a photo of us together for her? The kids are my favorite fans.”

Alona beamed a bright smile at Jensen and snatched her phone up off the counter and headed for the door beside her desk.

She hurried through and stood beside Jensen. He put his arm around her shoulders and she held up her phone to take a photo.

Of course, Jared chose that moment to come through the door. He stopped just as Alona snapped the photo. She grinned at Jared. “Have a nice break, Jared.”

Jensen smiled a little sheepishly then became completely distracted by how good Jared looked in work clothes. He was wearing a scrub shirt which reminded Jensen that he didn’t know exactly what Jared _did_ at Safe Haven. “Hi, Jared.”

Jared nodded, looking a little stiff and headed for the door. “I have my phone if anyone needs me, Alona.”

“Have fun!” She called out.

“Nice meeting you,” Jensen threw over his shoulder as he hurried after Jared.

It was a nice night, and Jensen took a deep breath once he was outside. He was smiling when Jared suddenly stopped walking and turned to face him.

“I thought you said you didn’t like all that fangirl stuff,” Jared said flatly.

Blinking a few times, Jensen tilted his head slightly as he looked up at Jared. “I… she has a twelve-year-old niece who watches the show. I offered to take a photo with her, thought her niece might like it.”

“Oh.” At least Jared had the decency to look a little sheepish himself.

“Kids are great. They just like the show and seem so happy about it. It’s not all complicated with drama.”

“I’m sorry,” Jared said. “I’m just. I don’t know what I am, but I’m sorry.”

Jensen shrugged and smiled. He was relieved that the misunderstanding wasn’t his fault. That had to be something he could mark in the plus column. “Don’t worry. Wanna start over?”

Jared’s expression softened as he looked at Jensen. He took a step closer to Jensen and nodded.

Jensen stood his ground and kept his gaze locked on Jared’s. He wished he knew what the hell it was about Jared that was so intriguing. Jensen felt drawn to him, almost like he didn’t really have a choice.

Jared took another step closer, ducked his head down and caught Jensen’s lips with his own.

Jensen’s lashes fluttered closed as pleasure slithered through his veins. His knees weakened a little and he reached out and grabbed a handful of Jared’s shirt to steady himself.

Jared’s mouth opened slightly and the very tip of his tongue ran along the seam of Jensen’s lips.

The shudder of heat that rippled down Jensen’s body left him feeling breathless. He opened his tingling lips wider and felt Jared’s hand slide around to the small of his back.

After a few moments, a few more gentle passes of their lips, Jared pulled back slightly and took a deep breath. “I should have done that the other night.”

Nodding slightly, Jensen realized he was still holding a hand full of Jared’s shirt. He unclenched his fingers slowly and dropped his hand back to his side. “That would have been okay.”

A smile finally appeared on Jared’s face and he pressed his fingers a little more firmly against the muscles in Jensen’s lower back. “You kissed me in public.”

Shrugging a shoulder, Jensen grinned. The heat of Jared’s hand felt like it was going to leave a burn on his back. All he could think about was having Jared’s hands… everywhere. “Not a problem.”

“Wanna get a coffee with me?” Jared asked almost shyly.

Jensen _really_ needed Jared to stop being quite so perfect because it was really hard to resist him as it was. “I’d love to.”

-=-=-=-

“Once a dog is brought into Safe Haven, I assess them for adoptability,” Jared said in between sips of his coffee. “Things like: do they scare easily? Are they good around other pets? Kids? Are they food aggressive?”

“That’s great,” Jensen answered. He was pretty impressed with Jared’s commitment to the cause. He obviously believed in acting rather than just talking about a cause. “Hey, that reminds me. Where’s Lexi?”

Jared chuckled. “She was out back flirting. There’s a new fella in and I think she’s sweet on him. Honestly, I think she’s good for this new pup. He’s still pretty skittish around people but he plays with her.”

“She’s your most reliable friend _and_ your assistant.”

“It’s true. She’s great. I’ll introduce you when we go back.” Jared ate some of the muffin he’d bought and looked around the cafe.

“About the other night…”

“It’s okay, Jensen. You were right. I shouldn’t have expected so much right out of the gates. It was pushy.” Jared smiled as he cupped his hands around his mug.

“I _want_ to explain,” Jensen answered. And he was surprised to find out that he really did. Of course, just as he’d suspected, all the words he’d planned out were gone.

Jared nodded and leaned forward slightly.

“I haven’t had a really significant relationship. So, yeah, your question caught me off guard.” Jensen looked down at his coffee for a few moments as he got his thoughts together.

“Jared, I’m a little new at some of this. I'm probably gonna make mistakes but I’d sure like to give this a try. There’s something about you… you and me that feels right.”

Smiling, Jared looked down then reached across the table and slid his fingers between Jensen’s. “I’d like to give _this_ a try.”

It had gone far better than Jensen had hoped. He finally realized how tense he’d been when he felt his shoulders relax. “Yeah?”

Chuckling, Jared slid his hand further forward until his hand covered Jensen’s. “Yeah. Of course, there’s one more test though.” There was a glint in Jared’s eye that was playful when he looked up.

-=-=-=-

Back at Safe Haven, Jared led Jensen into the back part of the building. They walked past a few offices, exam rooms and finally went through another door to a fenced in yard.

“Lexi, come!” Jared called out. He whistled once and reached out to grab Jensen’s hand and urge him closer.

A dog appeared from behind some short bushes and bounded towards Jared.

Jensen grinned as he watched the dog bounce and wriggle happily in front of Jared. She was a beautiful dog, mostly black with a white circle over her left eye and on the tip of her tail.

“Sit,” Jared said quietly. He glanced over his shoulder at Jensen. “Jensen, this is Lexi.”

Jensen crouched down and held out his hand. “Hey, Lexi.”

Lexi tilted her head slightly, looked at Jensen then back up at Jared.

“Okay, go,” Jared said with a smile on his face.

The dog padded over to Jensen, sniffed his hand then her tail began to wag and she almost hopped forward and began to lick Jensen’s face.

“Huh,” Jared said as he walked over to stand at Jensen’s shoulder.

“What? Ufff…” Jensen managed to get his fingers into Lexi’s fur so he could hold her back slightly. The thicker fur around her neck was almost like a mane.

“She doesn’t usually take to people that quickly unless there’s a biscuit involved,” Jared said. His fingers settled on the bare skin on the nape of Jensen’s neck.

Lexi sat down in front of Jensen and her tail thumped against the grass. Jensen smoothed his thumb along the silky fur on Lexi’s nose and tried _really_ hard not to focus on the heat of Jared’s fingertips. “I guess you have to like me now.”

“That wasn’t a problem.”

 _God_ , Jensen was in _so_ much trouble. The simplest touches sent his heart into a strange little tap dance in his chest. He was definitely in for an adventure.

After patting Lexi’s side, Jensen stood and slid his hand over Jared’s hip. “When can I see you again?”

Jared smiled.


	4. Can't Be Classy All The Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen may FINALLY be getting on track - .... hopefully...but who's that with Jared?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Masja for betaing! :D (very patiently I might add!)

Jensen opted for a more relaxed second outing for him and Jared. He asked if Jared would like to meet up with him and Danneel for drinks. Jared agreed happily and said he would bring a friend.

It was Jensen’s hope that having friends along would take some of the stress off and decrease the likelihood of him putting both feet squarely in his mouth.

Of course, he and Danneel were late; Danneel’s fault, not his. So, Jensen felt a little harried as they headed into the Hotel Cafe. It was a great spot in Hollywood, a place for music fans. “Of all nights to be late.”

“We are fashionably late,” Danneel corrected as she climbed out of her car. Her skirt hitched up as she slid off the seat and she wriggled her hips to slide it back down her thighs.

Jensen couldn’t help smirking as he waited for her.

“Can’t be classy all the time,” she joked as she adjusted her panties then headed towards the club.

“One of the main reasons I love you,” Jensen said. The boulevard was busy so Jensen grabbed Danneel’s hand and guided her through the people heading down the sidewalk towards the alley that led to the club. “You can explain why we’re late.”

“Oh _stop_ worrying. He lives in L.A. You think he’s never been late for anything?”

“I guess.” Jensen paid the doorman and they headed inside.

There was no band playing and the recorded music wasn’t deafening so they would be able to chat.

As his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit club, Jensen looked around. He spotted Jared sitting near the bar at one of the small tables talking to someone.

“Come on,” Jensen said as he tugged Danneel straight across the dance floor.

“Calm down, Jensen,” she protested as she nearly collided with a rather energetic server with a tray full of drinks. “He’s not going anywhere.”

“Jared!” Jensen said as he arrived at the man’s side.

“Hey, Jensen.” Jared pushed his chair back as he stood to kiss Jensen on the cheek.

In spite of himself, Jensen blushed. He did, however, have the good sense to resist looking around to see if anyone noticed. After all, he still wasn’t used to being _himself_ in public.

“Hi, Danneel.” Jared leaned down to kiss Danneel’s cheek and smiled at her. “Nice to see you again.”

“Hi, Jared.” Always curious, Dani peered around Jared to get a glimpse of his friend. “Who’d you bring with y-. That’s - unexpected.”

Jensen recognized the warning in his friend’s tone before he turned around to greet Jared’s friend.

The man sitting beside Jensen looked a little pleased with himself and smiled enigmatically. “Danneel, Jensen.”

“Daniel,” Danneel said. “Right?” she added, no doubt, to make sure he didn’t think he’d made _too_ much of an impression on them.

“You bet,” Daniel answer. He stood so he could step around Jared to embrace Danneel and kiss her.

Jensen felt the, now familiar, flush creeping up his neck and settling on his cheeks. It wasn’t like he’d _done_ anything with Daniel but… awkward… nonetheless.

“Jensen, _very_ nice to see _you_ again,” Daniel said. Before Jensen could take evasive action, Daniel leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

“You all know each other?” Looking more than a little surprised, Jared pulled a chair out for Danneel and gestured for her to sit down.

“Thanks,” Danneel said as she got settled. “We met Daniel at the club the night we met you. Shared a few dances.”

“Very enjoyable dances if memory serves,” Daniel said as he returned to his seat.

Now that they weren’t yelling over music, Jensen could hear that Daniel had a strange accent. It was almost Australian… but softer as though he’d lived in a few different places.

Jared glanced at Jensen and smiled uncertainly as he gestured for Jensen to sit next to Danneel.

It was becoming crystal clear to Jensen that he must have done something horrible in a past life. Awkward situations just seemed to seek him out.

“Wait,” Jared said as he returned to his seat. “Daniel, this isn’t…”

“Cinderella? Yes, it is,” Daniel answered. Grinning and managing to look completely comfortable, Daniel took a sip of his drink.

“Cinderella?” Jensen finally managed to ask.

Daniel laughed. “When I went back to find Jared after you two abandoned me, I told him that I’d been dancing with a sexy redhead and a tall, freckled creature with the most exotic green eyes. Sadly, I had to tell Jared that you dashed off like Cinderella at midnight.”

“It… I was tired,” Jensen said weakly. “I had to film in the morning.” Jensen had no idea why he felt the need to defend himself.

Looking quite uncomfortable, Jared glanced between Daniel and Jensen a few times. “Sorry, I… well, I didn’t know I stepped into something.”

“No apology necessary,” Daniel said as he squeezed Jared’s shoulder. “What’s a little sharing between friends?”

Jared smiled but when he looked over at Jensen he lifted an eyebrow curiously.

Jensen licked his lips nervously. “Sharing? Come on, Daniel. We only-”

Danneel silenced Jensen with a hand on his thigh. “Daniel! You’re not implying that one dance with Jensen means you’re dating, are you? You should have _seen_ how adorable it was when Jared asked him out. _So_ romantic. Relationship goals for me, I tell you.”

Love for his friend welled up in Jensen’s chest and he smiled at her. “I only danced because Danneel was there too,” Jensen said quietly.

Daniel leaned forward slightly and picked up his drink as he stared at Jensen. “Well, darling, if you find yourself getting tired of this tall drink of water I’ll be more than happy to take over.”

Jensen sprang up out of his chair so quickly that Danneel jumped. “I’m going to get us drinks. The usual, Dani?”

“I’ll have a Diet Coke. Designated driver,” she smiled sympathetically at Jensen.

“I’ll go as well,” Daniel said. “I’d like another whiskey. Jared?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Jared was holding his beer so tightly that his knuckles were a little pale.

Jensen cleared his throat and headed for the nearest bar without waiting for Daniel.

“In a rush, are you, Jensen?” As Daniel appeared at his side, he rested his hand on the small of Jensen’s back.

“I’ve been looking forward to seeing Jared all day,” Jensen said quickly. He tried to move away from Daniel’s hand but wasn’t successful.

“Jared says you’re an actor.”

“I am.” Jensen walked a bit faster. He had a feeling he was going to need more than one drink to get through the evening.

When Jensen glanced over his shoulder he caught sight of Jared looking his way. Danneel was leaned across the table talking to him and when her small hand settled on Jared's, he dragged his gaze away from Jensen.

Daniel exchanged pleasantries with the bartender then ordered a whiskey.

“A Diet Coke with three cherries and a pint of whatever is on tap,” Jensen said as he perched on the edge of one of the bar stools. He pulled his wallet out and dropped twenty dollars on the bar.

“Whatever’s on tap?” Daniel repeated as he chuckled. “You look like you’d have a much more discerning taste than that.” Daniel reached up and ran his thumb along Jensen’s collarbone.

Even through his shirt, Jensen could feel the warmth of Daniel’s thumb. He curled his fingers over the man’s wrist and moved his hand away. “I have _very_ particular taste in some things.”

Still smiling, Daniel nodded slowly as though the message was received.

Just at that moment, Jensen was saved from the awkward moment by the bartender sliding their drinks across the bar. 

“Keep the change,” Jensen said quickly. As soon as he had the drinks, he spun and headed back towards the table. Danneel was still talking and Jared looked like he was listening intently.

“Fuck my life,” Jensen murmured as he made his way straight across the dance floor. He put a smile on his face and held out Danneel’s glass as he approached them.

Danneel sat back and winked at Jensen. “Thanks, Jensen. I'm parched.”

“Well, it was a long two block walk from the car,” Jensen teased automatically.

“You two are like an old married couple,” Daniel said as he arrived at Jensen’s shoulder.

“Minus the sex,” Danneel deadpanned. “Jensen only has eyes for Jared these days.” Danneel pushed out the chair beside her and patted the seat seductively. “Daniel, sit your pretty ass down and tell me about yourself.”

There wasn’t a great enough gift to repay Danneel for having his back. The fondness Jensen had for her was monumental. As he moved to sit down beside Jared, he decided that he would absolutely find a way to thank her.

The volume of the music increased slightly and Jensen took a drink of his beer.

Jared shifted his chair around so he could lean in closer and speak nearer Jensen’s ear. “Is Danneel trying to save you?”

Looking down at his beer, Jensen smiled. At least Jared had noticed; that meant a little less explaining for Jensen. He set his beer down and turned on his seat so he could lean in, his cheek right beside Jared’s. “Daniel is… assertive. I’m not so good with people like that.”

It was the kindest way that Jensen could put it. He had no idea how close Daniel and Jared were, and he really didn’t want to offend Jared… again.

“He is,” Jared said against Jensen’s ear. “Although, I might have said _rude_ myself.”

A little surprised, Jensen pulled back slightly so he could see Jared’s face. They smiled at each other, Jared’s soft enough to make Jensen’s brain melt a little as the tension left his body.

Leaning back in, Jensen pressed a gentle kiss to the soft skin just in front of Jared’s ear. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Jared pressed his cheek against Jensen’s.

“Everything.”

“I’m just getting started,” Jared said. He chuckled and slid his hand over Jensen’s thigh.

Being around Jared made Jensen a little crazy. It was a good kind of crazy, but it was a little like being shoved out of a plane without a parachute. It was going to be a hell of a ride.

-=-=-=-

The night improved from its shaky beginning. Daniel stopped being a dick; Jensen figured Danneel was primarily responsible for that.

Jared dragged Jensen onto the dance floor after trying to convince him for over an hour. Jensen needed a couple of beers before he felt like he could handle dancing.

He was right to bolster himself with alcohol because Jared was even hotter when he was dancing and that wasn’t lost on most of the women on the dance floor with them. He moved far more gracefully than Jensen had expected and the combination of that and the sweat glistening on his forehead and chest was quite alluring. _Not_ that Jensen needed another reason to be attracted to Jared.

They laughed, they talked, Danneel told some hilarious and embarrassing stories about Jensen and Daniel repaid in kind with stories about Jared. It was a good night.

By about one a.m., Jared had let Jensen know he wanted to move on. Before Jensen really knew what was going on, Jared and Danneel agreed Jensen would ride with Jared and Danneel would give Daniel a ride home. Goodnights were said and Danneel was whispering in Jensen’s ear to call her if he needed anything.

And then he and Jared were alone in Jared’s car and heading back to Jensen’s condo.

Date number three seemed to be going very well. Jensen was completely at ease with Jared. They talked, they were comfortably quiet sometimes. It was good. Jensen could get used to it.

By the time Jensen put his key into the lock of his front door, he felt like he and Jared were finally on the right track.

“This is a nice building,” Jared said. He leaned against the doorframe and watched as Jensen fumbled with his key.

“I love it here. The building is secure, it’s a great location and Dani lives upstairs,” Jensen answered.

“Really? Why didn’t she drive you home?”

“Do you really have to ask?” Jensen grinned and pushed his door open.

He flicked the main light on and toed his boots off just inside the door. He lingered there at the door as Jared did the same. He swallowed, looked around, shoved his hands into his pockets then smiled at Jared. “Come on in. You want a drink?”

Holding up his keys, Jared jangled them before setting them down on the entrance table beside Jensen’s.

“Driving. Right.” Jensen took a few steps back towards the kitchen. “Coffee? Tea?”

Tilting his head slightly, Jared smiled and walked towards Jensen. “Tea is fine. Need a hand?”

“What? No, have a seat.” Jensen waved towards the couch then turned and headed to the kitchen. He’d been fine all night, he had no idea why he was suddenly a little nervous again.

Not bothering with the overhead light, Jensen flipped the kettle on and opened the cupboard to take out a couple of mugs.

“Nice place,” Jared said from right behind Jensen.

Nearly dropping one of the mugs, Jensen chuckled quietly and resisted the urge to turn around. “Thanks. I got this when the show was renewed for a third season.”

“I like it.” Jared slid his hand over Jensen’s waist then reached forward under his arm to pick up the box of tea that was on the kitchen counter. “What kind is it?”

A little rattled, Jensen pressed his hands to the counter as he tried to stop acting like a teenager. It was a little like being face to face with a high school crush. “What?”

“The tea.” Jared pressed flush to Jensen’s back and his lips brushed the back of Jensen’s ear.

There was no way that Jensen could stop his hand from trembling as he reached for the box of tea. “It’s, uh, Lemongrass,” he said after a while.

“Never had that.” Lips brushed down Jensen’s ear as Jared moved his free hand forward to press flat to the side of Jensen’s thigh. “You’re shaking.”

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Jensen smiled even though Jared couldn’t see him. “It’s you.”

“Me?” Lips dragged down the shell of Jensen’s ear.

Jensen felt the brief slide of lips everywhere in his body. His skin seemed to be trying to crawl right off his body and he shivered as he leaned back against Jared.

“Why Lemongrass?”

The kettle started to bubble. Jensen ran his thumb over the smooth box in his hand. “The smell. It. I…”

Jared laughed softly right at Jensen’s ear then leaned his head down to press a kiss to Jensen’s ear lobe. “You… what?”

All of Jensen’s brain cells were melting at the same time as his nerve endings all seemed to be firing. He wasn't sure if he could survive much more. “Cambodia. I. I went there. And. There was Lemongrass in all the food, incense, reminds me of that trip.”

“Must have been a great one,” Jared whispered against the skittering pulse in Jensen’s neck.

Unwilling to try and produce words, Jensen nodded. Very slowly, he became aware that the kettle was boiling and reach out to turn it off. “You better quit if you want tea.”

Laughing again, Jared grabbed Jensen’s hips and urged him to turn around.

Jensen leaned back against the counter, a little relieved it was there to help him remain on his feet. Having Jared so close to him was making his knees a little weak. “You don’t want tea?”

When Jared looked down he was smiling slightly. His fingers dug into Jensen’s hips a little more firmly and he leaned down even closer. “I asked for tea because you looked nervous.”

“My hero,” Jensen muttered as he stared into Jared’s eyes. They really were a crazy color, all green with flecks of gold, a little gray thrown in.

“I have to work in the morning,” Jared said softly. His lips found Jensen’s briefly and the touch was enough to make Jensen’s spine buzz like it was vibrating.

When Jensen smiled, his lips moved against Jared’s mouth. “I have an early call.”

Jared kissed Jensen again, caught his bottom lip and groaned softly. He ducked down slightly and kiss Jensen’s chin, then his jaw, then the smooth skin in front of his ear. “Come away with me this weekend.”

A hundred thoughts raced through Jensen’s mind all at once. _Away_. Quiet time, just the two of them, alone somewhere, days relaxing, nights… “Yes. Yeah. Where?”

One of Jared’s huge hands slid around to cup Jensen’s ass and squeeze gently. “Let me worry about the details. Pack a bag and I’ll pick you up Friday.”

It was two days away and Jensen was pretty sure that his heart would explode before then. He nodded, back arching slightly to push his hips forward. Because _fuck_ , he could feel that Jared was hard and that made Jensen’s cock ache.

“Tryin’ to get me to stay?” Jared nipped at Jensen’s jaw then nuzzled the stubble on his cheek.

“Is it. Is it working?” There really wasn’t a single reason that Jensen could think of for Jared to leave. He didn’t give a shit that they could still count the time they’d know each other in days. He couldn’t fill more than a couple of sheets of paper with what he knew about Jared. None of that mattered though.

Jared reached up to cup Jensen’s jaw. “I want a whole weekend with you. Just us, nothing to worry about, yeah?”

Nodding, Jensen leaned up on his toes slightly so he could kiss Jared’s bottom lip. He could still taste the beer Jared had drunk earlier and couldn’t help sliding his tongue forward to get a taste of what was to come on the weekend.

“Have I mentioned how much I want you?” The deep tone of Jared’s voice was as much confirmation as Jensen needed. His swollen shaft ached in his jeans and he could feel the start of a fire burning low in his belly at the very idea of being alone with Jared.

Throwing caution to the wind, Jensen reached both hands up and clasped them behind Jared’s neck. He loved the softness of Jared’s hair as it brushed the back of his hands. “No hints about where you’re going to take me?”

Jared’s eyes had darkened, his cheeks were flushed and he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth briefly. “Bring comfortable clothes.”

Laughing, Jensen kissed Jared again. The kiss was slower, languid, their lips parted and Jensen moaned when Jared’s tongue slid forward.

Pressing in closer, Jared pinned Jensen against the counter as he deepened the kiss. His hand slipped over to the middle of Jensen’s back, pressed there like he had no intention of ever letting Jensen move.

The kiss became rougher, more urgent, it took what was left of Jensen’s breath away. Their heads tilted slightly and Jared’s tongue swept over the edges of Jensen’s teeth. Their tongues slid together for a few dangerous moments, then Jared withdrew slowly.

“Wow,” Jensen murmured.

Jared moaned in a way that left _no_ doubt how he was feeling. “If I don’t leave now, I’m not going to.”

For a few moments, Jensen stared straight into Jared’s eyes while he considered how bad it would be for his career if he didn’t show up to film in the morning. Sadly, he knew Jared was right, and _God_ he really wanted more than a few hours with the man. “You better go then.”

Jared took a deep breath and ran his hand up Jensen’s side one last time. “Friday. Text me when you know what time you can leave?”

Nodding, Jensen reached up and brushed Jared’s hair back off his forehead. “Okay.”

Jared let his head fall forward to rest their foreheads together. “Okay.”

Laughing quietly, Jensen closed his eyes as warmth trickled down over him. “You’re not moving very quickly.”

Jared shook his head slowly and cinched his arms around Jensen’s waist. “You, Jensen Ackles, are very tempting.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“You should.”

Leaning back a little, Jensen peered up at Jared. “Get out of here. I want you well-rested for the weekend.”

“Good idea,” Jared agreed. Finally, he stepped back, arms loosening and hands finally sliding off Jensen’s body. “Going.”

Grinning like an absolute idiot, Jensen sagged back against the counter. “Go on then.”

After closing his eyes for a moment, Jared shook his head slowly then turned and headed for the door. He snatched up his keys, opened the door and paused, looking back over his shoulder. “Friday.”

“Friday,” Jensen echoed. He watched as Jared hesitated at the door for a few moments longer, smirked then left.

As soon as the door closed, Jensen sighed. Only a couple of nights to get through.

Still smiling, Jensen pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He unlocked the screen and started a text message.

_**Jensen** : Dani. You’ll never guess what I’m doing this weekend._

-=-=-=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Js weekend away together is the next chapter!


	5. Some Things Are Non-Negotiable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First night together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting a bit early because I'm busy with a few things this weekend. Sorry it's so long! I just got into it hehehe as did the boys! Thanks again Masja

They had driven for three hours when they finally stopped at one of the most beautiful places that Jensen had ever seen. Jared had rented a small cottage on the shores of Sapphire Lake. It was one of the most picturesque settings and Jensen was smitten as soon as he stepped out of the car.

He sucked in the fresh air and stared out over the lake. It was only about twenty feet from the cottage and the wind was blowing small waves against the shore. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I’ve only been here once before and I loved it. Most peaceful vacation I’ve ever had.” Jared sighed and slid his hands into his jacket pockets as he looked out over the lake.

Jensen couldn’t help wondering who had been with Jared on his first trip. It shouldn’t matter, but there was so much that Jensen didn’t know about Jared’s life. There was a lot of _before_ that they hadn’t covered yet.

“I was alone,” Jared said quietly. He lifted his shoulders slightly as a cool wind tousled his hair.

“Yeah?” Trying to look as though he wasn’t interested at all, Jensen twisted the toe of his boot on some of the tiny rocks that made up the shore.

“I was having a rough time. Needed to get away for a while and this place was just what I needed. I remember thinking-” Jared took another deep breath and smiled as Lexi dashed past them. She yipped happily and bounced into the shallow water.

“She’s happy too,” Jensen said. His insides were all warm and fuzzy, just him and Jared on a beach with Lexi running around; it was good.

“Want to see the cottage?”

Nodding, Jensen turned and followed Jared towards the front door.

The cottage was as quaint as Jensen expected it to be. There was a joint living area and kitchen, a huge bedroom and bathroom with a shower big enough for two people. Jensen made a mental note to test his hypothesis in the morning.

He stood in the doorway to the bedroom for a while. “There’s only a king size bed.”

“Yeah,” Jared said right behind him. “I made a bold assumption.”

Jensen’s lips twitched as a smile threatened to take over. “We’ve only known each other a week.”

“Yup.” Jared leaned forwards and kissed Jensen’s cheek. “You can always sleep on the couch.”

Chuckling, Jensen didn’t bother answering. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“Help me bring stuff in?” Jared called out as he headed back into the living room. “I need to try and coax Lexi inside.”

Jensen didn’t blame Lexi for wanting to be outside. He had a feeling he would be staring out the window a lot.

-=-=-=-

Lexi was resting her head on Jared’s knee and gazing up at him. He and Jensen had made themselves comfortable on the couch after a huge dinner of steak and vegetables. Jared had a good fire going and the cottage was _very_ cozy.

Jensen took a sip of Scotch and enjoyed the warmth as he swallowed. Jared was telling him about Lexi coming into his life. “So, Lexi chose you when it comes down to it.”

“She did. I mean I had wanted a dog for a while. I figured I would just know when it was right.” Jared put his socked feet up on the coffee table. He was wearing wool socks and old, worn jeans with a wool sweater. The sweater was green and made Jared’s eyes look more gold than usual.

Jensen leaned closer to Jared so he could scratch Lexi’s head. Her eyes were already closing and she sighed. “Well, I think she’s awesome.”

Grinning, Jared rubbed his hand slowly up and down Jensen’s back. “We’re a little family, she and I.”

“Have you been single for a while?” Jensen set his drink down and pulled his feet up onto the couch so he could lay down. He rested his head on Jared’s thigh. The couch was _just_ long enough that he could prop his feet up on the arm.

“About a year and a half. At first, I thought I should take a break. Then, I just didn’t actively look for anyone,” Jared answered.

“What was his name?” Comfortable, warm, Jensen felt like he just wanted to know more about Jared. It didn’t really matter what Jared spoke about.

“Matt.” Jared rested his hand on Jensen’s chest and rubbed his thumb back and forth slowly. “We were kind of mismatched from the beginning.” He laughed quietly.

“What d’you mean?” Closing his eyes, Jensen focused on the warm weight of Jared’s hand on his chest.

“Just very different. He’s a bit of a rebel, one of those devil-may-care kind of guys. I guess I always felt like I was trying to be the responsible one.”

“You seem pretty carefree to me,” Jensen said quietly.

“Yeah? I’m not super militant about everything if that’s what you mean. Matt’s just kind of crazy.”

“Do you still see him?”

“Yeah.” Jared reached down and slipped his fingers under the hem of Jensen’s t-shirt. His skin was cool on Jensen’s belly and he sucked in a quick breath. “ _Jesus_ , your hands are freezing.”

Jared’s response was to press his palm flat over Jensen’s stomach muscles. He let out a happy moan. “You are warm.”

“Is it weird seeing him now?”

Jared laughed. “No weirder than it’s always been. You’ll see when you meet him.”

“Meet the competition? Not sure if I want to do that.” Opening his eyes, Jensen looked up to see Jared smiling down at him.

“He’s no competition for you.” As Jared’s hand warmed up he began to rub his hand back and forth across Jensen’s belly.

Lexi finally gave up on her Jared-vigil and padded over to the carpet in front of the fire. She turned in a circle a few times and then flopped down.

“She’s given up on us,” Jensen said. He rested his hand over Jared’s with the sweater between them.

“You tired?” Jared asked.

“A little, but I’m ready to go to bed either way.” The thought of going to the bedroom with Jared made Jensen feel a little giddy. “Can I tell you something?”

“‘Course.”

“You make me feel like a nervous high school kid.”

“Thank _God_ ,” Jared said quickly. “I thought I was the only one.”

Jensen pushed himself up and swung his legs back down to the carpet. His nerves were a little on edge but he figured that was normal. What was the worst that could happen? If they didn’t last as a couple, then he was pretty sure there would be some very good sex for him to remember.

“Come on then.” Jensen grabbed Jared’s hand as he stood. He tugged on Jared’s arm until he stood up. “Bed.”

-=-=-=-

It was strange to walk into the bedroom with Jared. Somehow, Jensen had expected things to be a little more rough and tumble; more of a tear-clothes-off kind of thing. Instead, Jensen found himself undressing slowly at the end of the bed, glancing over at Jared every so often. Undressing without help was… unexpected.

Keeping his gaze down, Jensen folded his sweater and set it on the trunk at the end of the bed. He flipped his belt buckle open then grabbed hem of his undershirt to pull it off over his head. As he laid it on his sweater, he glanced over at Jared to find him sitting on the edge of the bed fully clothed.

Jensen could feel a blush sliding onto his cheeks. “What?”

“Just watching,” Jared said thickly. He licked his lips and stared at Jensen hungrily.

 _That_ was more like it. Jensen smiled a little and took a couple of shaky breaths as he stared at Jared. Very slowly, he unbuttoned his jeans then slid the zipper down. His jeans were pretty loose so they slipped down over his hips easily; he let them fall to the floor and stepped out of them.

Jensen smoothed his hands over the ass of his Saxx boxer briefs. He’d never been more happy to be wearing them. When Danneel had made him buy them, she’d said they would show off one of his best assets. Prior to that day, Jensen had never really thought of his ass as an asset. He was suddenly very thankful that Danneel did.

Jared was still sitting on the edge of the bed. He’d taken his sweater off, but that was it. It really didn’t seem at all fair to Jensen.

“I’m feelin’ a little exposed,” Jensen said. He folded his arms across his chest and shifted his weight to his back foot. He could _feel_ Jared’s gaze on him; his eyes like hands that were sliding all over his body.

“Come here,” Jared said quietly.

Jensen took a deep breath then walked over to where Jared was sitting.

As soon as he was within reach, Jared slid gentle hands over Jensen’s hips and pulled him in between his long legs.

Looking down slightly, Jensen smiled. Jared’s cheeks were ruddy, still looking warmed by the fireplace. His hair was tousled, strands of it hanging in his face. His pupils were wide with just the slightest sliver of hazel rimming them. “You have amazing eyes.”

When Jared smiled, his dimples sank further into his cheeks. He lowered his gaze to his hand as he moved it slowly up Jensen’s side then along his rib cage. The tip of his finger brushed Jensen’s nipple and sent goosebumps skipping down his body.

“You’re beautiful,” Jared murmured.

 _Beautiful_ felt strange to Jensen. He wasn’t a complete idiot. He knew he was good looking, but _beautiful_ felt like it was too much, or maybe it just made him feel a little more self-conscious. He chuckled, nervous and hesitant and he reached out to slide his splayed fingers into Jared’s long, silky hair.

“We’ve never talked,” Jared said.

“About?” 

Tilting his head slightly, Jared let his hands glide down the middle of Jensen’s chest until he could rest it on his hip. “This. We haven’t talked about what you like.”

Jensen’s first instinct was to say, _from you? Anything_ , but that could get him into trouble. “We negotiating?”

The look on Jared’s face was hotter than hell. He looked confident, a little amused and a little predatory. Jensen had to shift his hips slightly so that he could adjust his swelling shaft subtly.

“Some things are non-negotiable,” Jared said as both hands moved back to cover the globes of Jensen’s ass.

Heat flared in Jensen’s belly and his heart began to thump a little harder. The warmth of Jared’s hands felt _so_ good through the thin cotton of his boxers. His muscles tightened as Jared’s fingers dug in slightly. “Like what?”

“I want your mouth,” Jared said huskily.

Jensen swallowed, his lips parted slightly and he nodded. The blood in his veins felt like it had turned to molten lead. His entire body felt hot, heavy and a little out of his control. “What else?”

“I’ve been tested. I’m good.” Jared’s lips twitched as he wetted them.

Were they really going to do this? Jensen nodded again and ran his hand down Jared’s cheek, over his jaw, and down his neck. He squeezed Jared’s muscular shoulder then massaged his upper arm.

Jared’s body was firm everywhere; more muscular than Jensen’s. There didn’t seem to be an ounce of body fat on him. A needy little moan escaped Jensen’s lips and he squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments.

“You?”

It wasn’t until Jared spoke again that Jensen realized he hadn’t answered. “Me? I’m good.”

Another item to add to the list of things that Danneel was going to kick his ass for. Yeah, he could already hear the lecture she would give him. _You hardly know him. Don’t rush into things.Be sensible._

Tugging Jensen closer, Jared ran his fingers down the cleft of Jensen’s ass. Even through the material, it felt good. “Jared? You really need to take some clothes off.”

Jensen wanted his hands on Jared. It was a little like sitting in front of a feast he wasn’t allowed to eat.

Lifting an eyebrow slightly, Jared smirked. “Help me out.”

 _Death by Jared_ could actually be a thing. It hadn’t occurred to Jensen before but he was seriously considering it.

Pulling free of Jared’s grip, Jensen stepped back far enough that he could reach down for the hem of Jared’s t-shirt. He pulled it up and off quickly and he certainly wasn’t disappointed. He’d known Jared was fit but seeing him without his shirt _really_ made it clear. Under his honey-colored skin, all his muscles were well-defined, sculpted, his chest was broad, shoulders wide.

Jensen was tall, and he was fairly well built himself. He had to keep fit for work, but Jared was above and beyond that. It was good, _very_ good.

Looking without touching was impossible. Jensen let his hands slip over the hard curves of Jared’s pecs, moved them down to the ribs he could _just_ see below all that smooth flesh.

When he glanced up at Jared’s face, he was pleased to see the flush of pleasure on his cheeks. There was already a light sheen of sweat on his brow, and some stray wisps of hair were clinging to his face.

Without saying a word, Jared leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. He looked pointedly at his jeans then back up at Jensen.

“Want me to get those off too?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Jensen’s cock twitched and he reached down briefly to adjust himself.

“You hard for me?” Jared asked as he reached forward to cup the line in Jensen’s boxers.

Jensen almost whimpered. “Been hard for a while now.” Feeling a little cocky, Jensen let his hips rock forwards into Jared’s grip. _Want_ flared in his belly and Jensen felt a dull ache in his balls.

Moaning, Jared rubbed his thumb against the damp patch of material at the head of Jensen’s cock. “Get my jeans off,” he growled.

All the muscles in Jensen’s body felt tense and loose at the same time, his lungs ached as he tried to breathe in and his skin felt like it was coming alive. The low, rumble of Jared’s voice was like a live wire hooked up to his cock. “ _God_ ,” he murmured.

“Come on, you’re killin’ me.”

Fumbling with Jared’s belt, Jensen leaned down to brush his lips across Jared’s. He heard the breath catch in Jared’s chest as he managed to get his jeans undone. 

“Get up,” he mouthed against Jared’s spit-slick lips.

When Jared stood, he practically slid up Jensen’s body. The end result was that Jared was pressed up against him, their bare chests flush, hot and smooth as they touched. Jensen’s knees gave out briefly and he wondered if he would ever get used to the way it felt to be near Jared.

Just as he pushed Jared’s jeans down, Jensen dropped his gaze. He saw the delicious cut of Jared’s hips and licked his lips. He reached out and trailed his thumbs along the groove watching as the muscle under Jared’s tight abs rippled.

Jared’s jeans fell to the floor and Jensen felt the heavy weight of the man’s cock rest against him. 

“Commando?”

“More comfortable,” Jared murmured. His fingers tucked in the waistband of Jensen’s boxers and pushed them down quickly.

“These are… were quite comfortable.” Jensen stepped out of his boxers and then everything seemed to rush past him.

Jared had grabbed his arm and spun him around so he could push him down on the foot of the bed. “Scoot up.”

Frowning over his smile, Jensen wriggled his way up the bed until he could lay back on the pillow.

“Comfy?” Jared was standing there at the bottom of the bed, weight on his back foot, hips canted slightly, looking like sex on a _fucking_ stick.

Jensen took the entire display in, dragged his eyes over Jared’s strong thighs, his monster of a fucking cock, the light dusting of hair on his abs that thickened a little as it drifted up his chest. And his god-damned face, all fox eyed and square jawed and gorgeous. “I’m a little lonely.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Jared almost growled. “I plan to change that.” He knelt on the bottom of the bed and pushed Jensen’s feet apart slightly. Glancing up at Jensen, he picked up Jensen’s left foot and leaned down to kiss his ankle just above the bone.

“God,” Jensen whispered. It _really_ shouldn't feel as good as it did but Jensen couldn’t remember anything _ever_ having felt quite as electric as Jared’s lips on his skin.

Warm, wet lips moved up Jensen’s shin, over his knee and along his thigh. Jared mouthed, kissed and licked a path all the way up Jensen’s leg until he reached the sensitive furrow just below his hip.

“Jared!” Jensen’s body arched up off the bed as pleasure pricked along his skin. His cock bounced heavy and hot against his belly, then Jared’s cheek and Jensen squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hand down his chest until he could strangle his fingers in Jared’s hair.

Time slid away from Jensen. Jared nuzzled against Jensen’s balls, sending sparkling shocks through his body. He trailed his tongue the length of Jensen’s cock then over his clenching abs before dipping the tip into Jensen’s belly button. A surge of heat made Jensen’s cock throb and he could feel the hot, slick of pre-come on his belly. “You’re killing me.”

“I hope not.” Jared laughed darkly against Jensen’s nipple before rolling it between his teeth.

Little flares of pain made Jensen’s spine twitch and spark like a fuse had been lit. Jensen’s hands were all over Jared’s body. Whatever flesh he could reach, he clawed with his nails or squeezed until his fingers ached. He let his head fall back against the pillow, exposing his throat just as Jared’s body slid on top of his.

The weight of Jared made Jensen tremble. His hand slid down Jared’s sides, over his slender hips and finally settled on his ass. He widened his legs, hooked one over Jared’s and moaned when the velvet hot skin of Jared shaft slid up next to his own.

“God, I want you,” Jared said in a burst of hot breath against Jensen’s mouth.

It was one of those _turning point_ moments. Choose a direction and go with it. _Screw_ deep conversations and life plans. “Fuck me then.”

The words felt sinfully dirty sliding off Jensen’s tongue. It felt a little like someone else said them. Jensen had never seen himself as the kind of guy who would say something like that.

The way Jared’s eyes narrowed made Jensen’s heart clench tightly in his chest.

“I… I assume you’ve done this before.”

There were some questions Jensen didn’t want to answer and that, right there, was one of them. No… he hadn’t but he didn’t care about that at all. What he cared about was the fact that he had never been so turned on in his life. His cock was throbbing, his balls aching for release and looking at Jared was making him feel drunk with pleasure.

Jensen smiled, then bit down on his bottom lip. Eyes locked on Jared’s, he lifted his other leg and locked his ankles together at the small of Jared’s back. Both his hands slid into Jared’s hair and he pulled him down so he could whisper against his lips. “I _want_ you to fuck me.”

It seemed that Jared didn’t need any more convincing. His mouth crushed against Jensen’s, tongue sliding forward possessively. His hips rocked forward, his strength painting a very clear picture of what was to come.

Letting out a reluctant-sounding groan, Jared reached back and loosed Jensen's leg hold so he could roll over onto his side. He reached back behind him.

“You warm enough?” Jared asked. He leaned down to kiss Jensen’s cheek.

_Adorable._

Jensen nodded. “Ya worried about me?”

“Don’t want you to cool off; I like you all hot and bothered,” Jared growled as he fiddled with the bottle of lube in his hands.

Jared pushed at Jensen’s hip and guided him onto his side, then pressed up close to his back.

Jensen’s frustration escaped in a small moan. “Can’t touch you.”

The instant Jared’s lips were at his ear, Jensen shuddered as a burst of pleasure rattled his bones.

“I want you to feel amazing,” Jared whispered. His breath was hot and the rush of it past Jensen's ear made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

“Already feel amazing.” No word of a lie. If anyone asked Jensen for his favorite moment in life so far, he was pretty sure it was that one.

“Well, things are just getting started.” Jared kissed the back of Jensen’s neck, sucking, dragging his teeth along the sensitive skin. He slipped his hand under Jensen’s leg and moved it forward slightly.

Jensen’s breath hitched as Jared’s slick, cold finger circled his hole. It felt strange, hot, but strange. Jensen felt like his face was on fire and reached back to try and grab Jared’s hip.

“You alright, Babe?”

 _Babe._ Jensen felt a flush creep up his chest and neck. He’d never been one for pet names but, for some reason, Jared's voice made it hot as hell.

“Perfect,” Jensen said softly. He was a little apprehensive, but, who wouldn't be? It was pretty easy to avoid focusing on that with all six foot whatever inches of Jared pressed up against his back.

The organized thoughts in Jensen’s mind fled the moment Jared’s finger slid into his ass. His hips jerked forwards, and he clamped his teeth down on his bottom lip. His fingers tightened on Jared’s hip and he slid his other hand up to grip the pillow under his head.

A second finger slid in and a burn began to throb. Jensen jumped slightly and tried to slow his breathing. He focused on the lips that were still moving on the nape of his neck, down along his shoulder.

“You’re _so_ tight,” Jared murmured. His teeth clamped down on the bulk of Jensen’s shoulder and he moaned.

“God,” Jensen managed to squeeze out past his clenched teeth. A third finger set off a cramp and Jensen curled forward slightly. The burn was pretty intense and Jensen could feel sweat beading on his forehead.

“Relax,” Jared murmured. 

In spite of the pain, Jensen found himself smiling. It pleased him that his _first_ time was with Jared; it meant a little something more than it may have with anyone else.

Jared’s arm curled under his neck and his palm settled on Jensen’s chest. “Keep breathing.”

Jensen hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath and blew it out slowly. “M’good.”

“You sure?” Jared’s voice sounded a little tense, uncertain. He stopped moving his fingers, leaning forward slightly and kissing Jensen just behind his ear. “Is there something… you want to tell me?”

Jensen turned slightly and managed to look into Jared’s eyes. He frowned slightly then smiled and licked his lips. “Don't stop.”

For a few entirely-too-long moments, Jared just studied Jensen’s face. Then he pushed his fingers deeper and when Jensen’s lips parted to let out a cry of pleasure-pain, Jared caught his mouth at the same time as his fingers filled his ass. Jensen was certain he no longer needed to breathe at all.

Adjusting his position a little, Jared was able to reach down and press his thumb against Jensen’s hard nipple.

Jensen could feel the fingers in his ass stretching, working him open. It was crazy. All the different sensations were bombarding him all at once, overwhelming him and still leaving him wanting so much more.

“Jared.” Jensen’s voice sounded strange to him, tight and overused. His ass felt like it was stretched wide open and he felt exposed. It wasn’t so much the way Jared was touching him as the way he felt. He had so little control over himself and it was close to terrifying.

“Keep breathing,” Jared murmured in between kisses.

Long fingers curled around Jensen’s half-hard legth and swept along its length.

The push of Jared’s cock as it breached Jensen’s reluctant body was a dull burn. Jensen squeezed his eyes closed tightly and turned his head so his slack mouth could suck on the tanned flesh of Jared’s forearm. He could feel the tendons move when Jared squeezed, teased and rolled his nipple.

The slow, slide of Jared’s cock was torturous. Jensen let out a moan that was caught between _want_ and _hurt_.

Jared’s mouth was in constant motion. Smooth lips slid down the nape of Jensen's neck; the press against Jensen’s ass increased momentarily and he felt his body give way.

“God, Jared.” The heat that had been pooling low in Jensen’s body began to boil over. With each gentle nudge of his hips, Jared slid a little further into Jensen.

“Feels so good,” Jared murmured against Jensen’s shoulder. His fingers smoothed over the hypersensitive flesh of Jensen’s hardening cock.

It _did_ feel good. _Fuck_ , Jensen wasn’t even sure he knew how to process the intensity of everything he was feeling. He had nothing to compare it to. The sounds Jared made were slithering down Jensen’s body like a warm summer rain. He would moan softly, his breath would catch, he would sigh when Jensen arched his back to push his ass back.

It was all sweat-slick skin, beautiful noises, the gentle slide of Jared’s wide palms and the biting grip of his strong fingers. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, Jensen was completely lost.

Then Jared was as deep as possible in Jensen’s ass and he cried out in pleasure as he let his head rest against Jensen’s hair. “ _Jesus._ ”

Jensen managed to find Jared’s fingers with his own and tangled them together. He could feel the heat of his own cock as Jared continued to work it.

Jensen felt full, on the edge of _something more_ , wound up and he didn’t know what to do. “Jay?”

“I’ve got you,” Jared said in a rough voice. “Relax, Babe.”

 _God_... that name again. The pleasure it dredged up in Jensen’s chest made him let out a sound that was _far_ too close to a whimper.

He forgot it though… the instant Jared’s hips pulled back then slipped forward again. The sinful slide of that huge cock made Jensen’s body start to tremble. Something inside him clenched, sending the sweetest sensation curling through his entire body.

Jared struggled to get both arms around Jensen and tugged him back against his chest. His hips rocked forward slowly. Jensen could feel Jared moving gracefully, almost fluid. His whole body was in motion from head to toe, a wave of muscle and flesh.

As Jared’s arms cinched a little tighter, Jensen tilted his hips back and the angle slid Jared’s cock across Jensen’s prostate. He was totally unprepared for how it felt; it was one thing to know about it and another to feel it. His entire body felt electrified, nerves raw and sparking. His vision was white washed by a tidal wave of pleasure that was drowning him. “Fuck.”

A half-laugh, half-moan slipped past Jared's lips and he mouthed his way along Jensen’s shoulder as his hips began to thrust faster.

Their bodies fell into an easy rhythm, moving together with an ease that seemed practiced. It just worked; _they_ worked together.

Sweat prickled on Jensen's skin, his cock was so swollen it ached and each time it brushed against the quilt Jensen felt like he would come right out of his skin. The intensity of the desire all intertwined with Jared was making Jensen’s heart race so fast it felt like a flutter in his chest.

Jared’s breathing was ragged and uneven against Jensen’s ear and the steady push of his hips faltered. Clumsy fingers reached down to stroke Jensen’s aching shaft.

For a fraction of a second, Jensen felt like he was free falling, then the weight of his orgasm slammed him back into his body. The pulse of pleasure that gripped him made his back arch and his muscles tighten. Ropes of come splashed onto his hand and across his belly.

Jared’s hips slammed against Jensen’s ass and he let out a long moan. His nails dug into Jensen’s flesh. The pulse of Jared’s cock made Jensen’s body quiver and his balls throb weakly.

He lay there for a while, plastered against Jared’s chest, panting as his body twitched and trembled. He slid his hands over Jared’s arm and held on tightly. 

When he could finally feel his body beginning to relax, Jensen let out a long sigh and let his head fall down onto the pillow.

“Holy shit,” Jared said as he shifted back enough to slip from Jensen’s body. 

The heat of Jared’s body fell away from Jensen's back and he was finally let go. He shivered at the loss of body heat. Eyes heavy-lidded and limbs feeling boneless, Jensen used what little strength he had left to roll over and drape an arm and a leg across Jared.

The smell of _them_ was everywhere and Jensen smiled against Jared’s sweaty chest.

“What?”

“ _That_ was good.”

“ Good?” Jared huffed indignantly. “I was aiming for amazing.” He bent his arm up so he could comb his fingers through Jensen’s hair, occasionally dragging his nails along the scalp.

“ _That_ was amazing,” Jensen said as his smile morphed into a stupidly-broad grin.

“Much better.” Leaning forward slightly, Jared pressed his lips to Jensen’s forehead. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“I know I have my moments, Jensen, but I’m not a complete idiot.”

Jensen turned his head slightly so Jared couldn’t see his face. He shrugged, hoping he could escape the questions.

“You’ve never bottomed before,” Jared said against Jensen’s hair.

“Not exactly.”

“Not exactly? Or no?” Jared’s fingers were still brushing through Jensen’s hair, making the skin down the back of his neck tingle.

“No.”

“You could have told me,” Jared said. “I wouldn’t have freaked out or anything. We didn’t have to-”

“Jared, it was great. Really.” Jensen leaned back slightly and gazed up at Jared. “I wanted this.”

Jared smiled slightly and nodded once. “You’re not exactly a forthcoming guy, are ya?”

Jensen was a little surprised. He considered himself to be pretty open. But, he was also used to protecting himself which was a symptom of being in the public eye. “I think I get used to not offering too much information up.”

“Why?” Jared rolled towards Jensen, tucked his arm under his pillow and got comfortable.

“I’ve been an actor since I was pretty young. I said some stupid things sometimes in interviews. Fortunately, no one really cared about who I was back then.”

Jared nodded, and rubbed his hand down Jensen’s shoulder.

“It’s weird when you see photos of yourself that are embarrassing, or stupid answers you gave on the spur of the moment.” Jensen didn’t have a lot of regrets but if he could go back, he would change a few things.

“I’m not a reporter. I’m the man you’re seeing.” The smile on Jared’s lips looked a little sad and Jensen didn’t like it.

“I know that, Jared. I just… I will try, okay?” Jensen reached up and swept the damp hair back from Jared’s forehead. “I’ll start right now.”

“Oh?” Jared’s lips twitched slightly as his smile warmed.

Trying not to smirk and failing miserably, Jensen leaned in closer to kiss the corner of Jared’s mouth. “I hate broccoli.”

With mock horror on his face, Jared withdrew slightly. “You ate a ton of it at dinner.”

Laughing, Jensen grabbed onto Jared’s wrist and pulled him in close again. “You were so proud of dinner and I didn’t want to offend you.”

“I’m heart-broken. This could be a deal-breaker, Jensen.” Jared tried to look serious but the glint of amusement in his eyes completely ruined it. “Broccoli is _very_ important to me.”

“Oh, _fuck_ off,” Jensen said. He threw his head back as he laughed. It was the kind of laugh that made Jensen feel completely and absolutely at home. It was a _very_ nice feeling.

“You have the best laugh,” Jared murmured as he wrapped his arms around Jensen again.

Jensen took a deep breath of the scent of Jared and sighed happily.

-=-=-=-


	6. The Sweetest Man Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more weekend....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry this is a bit late! Not that I really had a schedule but I've been aiming for every Friday! :D 
> 
> Thanks to Masja for keeping me motivated! :D

When Jensen woke up, he really didn’t want to open his eyes. He shifted his hips slightly and as the muscles in his ass tightened, he felt a dull ache. Oh yes.

His mouth felt dry and when he tried to reach for his water bottle he realized he was trapped under the quilt. It had been cool enough in the cottage the previous night - after the amazing amount of touching, kissing, groping and stroking - that Jensen had burrowed down into the pile of blankets and the soft mattress.

He reached out to the side and discovered that his sleeping companion had already gotten up. He groaned and fought to get his arms free so that he could stretch. The air in the bedroom was a little cool and Jensen shivered. When he arched his back he took in a deep breath and that’s when a pleasant smell reached his nostrils.

_Coffee._

“He really is the sweetest man alive,” Jensen muttered as he reached out for the mug.

“Now, _that’s_ what I like to hear first thing in the morning.”

When Jensen looked up, he saw Jared leaning against the doorframe. He seemed even better looking in the morning light that was coming through the gap between the curtains.

“Morning,” Jared said. He just stood there, watching Jensen and looking beautiful with his sleep-tousled hair. Clad only in his boxer-briefs he cut quite a striking image.

“You’re beautiful,” Jensen managed to say in a gruff voice. Jared often left him a little too close to speechless.

Somehow, Jared managed to smile and frown at the same time. A pink blush crawled up onto his cheeks and he looked down at his feet. “You’re just saying that because I made you coffee.

“Sure,” Jensen answered. “That’s part of it.”

Chuckling, Jared pushed off the doorframe, walked over to the bed and sat down beside Jensen’s hip. “It’s already ten. I have breakfast on the go.”

“Pulling out all the stops?” The coffee tasted great and Jensen moaned happily after his first few sips.

Shrugging a shoulder, Jared reached out and ran his thumb along the sheet where Jensen’s hip bone was outlined. “You know if you’d told me…”

“Told you wh- oh.” The caffeine was beginning to unlock Jensen’s thought processes. “It’s fine, Jared.”

Jared shook his head slightly. “I would have made it special.”

The weight of the words settled warmly on Jensen’s chest and he found himself smiling again. “Jared, it was perfect.”

When their eyes locked, Jared’s expression softened and he squeezed Jensen’s hip. “You _should_ have told me.”

It was Jensen’s turn to shrug. “I didn’t want you to stop.”

Jared sighed and reached up to touch Jensen’s cheek. “Just remember, you said you would try to be more open.”

For a moment, Jensen found himself bristling, but he pushed it aside quickly. “It wasn’t about not being open. I just… I wanted you.”

Blinking a few times, Jared stared. Finally, he nodded almost imperceptibly and his mood seemed to lighten. “Get your amazing ass out of bed. I have a bowl of pancake batter ready to go.”

Jensen gave Jared a mock salute and took another sip of coffee before setting it down.

-=-=-=-

They were following a trail around the lake, Lexi on point and occasionally glancing back in their direction. The air was crisp and fresh and the scent of Fall was already lingering.

Lexi barked and dashed into the trees just ahead of them.

“Lexi! Leave it!” Jared called out. After a few seconds, the bushes rustled and then Lexi came bursting back through them.

“Bear?” Jensen really wasn’t _that_ much of an outdoorsy guy.

Laughing, Jared grabbed Jensen’s hand and pulled him closer. “Probably a squirrel.”

“They can be vicious,” Jensen deadpanned.

“Squirrels? They’re no match for Lexi.” The smile on Jared’s face was almost dazzling. Happiness looked good on him.

“The lesser known Sabertooth squirrel is known to stalk humans,” Jensen said.

Jared was trying not to laugh. Jensen could tell by the way his lips were twitching. He shook his head and looked ahead to where Lexi was sniffing something.

“You’re cocky now,” Jensen teased. “Wait until you’re face to face with one.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Oh yeah? You’re very confident.”

“Well, I just have to outrun _you_ , right?”

“Jared, _that_ is not a nice thing to say. I have a treadmill at home. You just want. You might be surprised.”

“Are you challenging me to a race?” Jared grinned.

“No,” Jensen said quickly. He wasn’t insane. Jared could probably run circles around him. “I’m on vacation. I don’t run.”

Jared laughed even harder and hell if that didn’t make Jensen feel all kinds of warm and alive.

Lexi turned to look at them and yipped as though she wanted them to move faster.

“She’s bossy,” Jensen muttered.

“She’s herding us,” Jared explained. “I guess she thinks three of us means we now require herding.”

“Did you always like dogs?”

Jared let go of Jensen’s hand so he could put his arm around his shoulders.

It felt surprisingly natural for Jensen. To fit there at Jared’s side. It was familiar as though they’d done it a thousand times.

“There’s something about dogs,” Jared began. “They’re loyal, fun-loving. They keep things really simple, you know? They love food, they want to run and play and they just need a little love. The best thing in the world is when they can stick their noses into the wind through an open car window.”

“I guess I never really thought about it that way.”

“They love unconditionally.”

“So do some people,” Jensen answered. He believed that; it was one of the reasons he hadn’t given up on his stupid assed fantasy of falling in love and living happily ever after with his own personal Prince Charming.

“You think so?” Jared glanced down at Jensen before returning his gaze to Lexi.

“Sure. Well, I mean, I hope that’s what happens in a serious relationship,” Jensen said. “It should be unconditional. No one should expect another person to change, or be something they’re not.”

“Should,” Jared said wistfully.

Jensen found that he didn’t like the way Jared looked. A sadness seemed to have taken hold of him that hadn’t been there moments before. “So. Is this about Matt, by chance?”

Jared sighed and nodded. “I guess so. I don’t know.”

They were quiet for a while. Jensen wanted to give Jared room to think... the space to continue talking if he wanted to.

It worked.

“Okay. Don't think I’m crazy. But it feels like we meet people and everything is all _perfect_ , you know? All the emotions and feelings and it’s just _so_ good. It can only really downhill from that point.”

It took a little while for Jensen to really think about what Jared was saying. It seemed pretty out-of-character with the Jared that he’d gotten to know. But then, maybe he didn’t know him well enough to judge yet. “You surprise me. You’re usually Mr. Optimistic.”

Squeezing Jensen’s shoulders briefly, Jared kept his gaze focused on the trail ahead of them.

“I’m optimistic, but I’m also a bit of a realist.”

“Well,” Jensen said softly. “I’m afraid that you’re going to have to suck it up and experiment, ‘cause I'm not going anywhere.”

Jared snorted. Not quite the reaction that Jensen had hoped for. “What?”

“You sound pretty convinced,” Jared answered.

“Sometimes, you just know things.” Jensen smiled as he watched Lexi go tearing into the lake.

Jared groaned. “Lexi! Not again.” His arm slid off Jensen’s shoulders as he dashed after his dog.

Jensen couldn’t help laughing.

-=-=-=-

In the afternoon, they were out on the front porch of the cottage. Lexi was racing back and forth on the small patch of grass in front of them for a while, then she found a patch of late afternoon sunlight and sprawled out in it for a nap.

The beer Jared had brought out for each of them tasted good, but Jensen always thought a cold beer tasted better when he was outside. It must have been the slightly unsuccessful attempts at camping he’d had with his family when he was a kid. Even if they’d ended up in Motels most of the time, Jensen had enjoyed it.

Half way through the beer, Jared had been overcome with the idea that he wanted to taste Jensen’s beer… _in_ Jensen’s mouth. It lead to a lot of kissing; the kind of kissing that turned Jensen’s spine to jello and left him feeling as though his lips were well-used and appreciated. Jared kissed like it was one of the most important things in the universe. His mouth moved softly sometimes, sweeping along Jensen’s lips as he breathed in the scant air left between them. Other times the crush of Jared’s mouth left absolutely no doubt in Jensen’s mind that he was wanted. Some of the kisses were hungry, desperate, and ended with small gasps that made it sound as though Jared wouldn’t survive if he had to stop.

It didn’t progress from kissing. It didn’t seem to matter to Jared that they were both harder than hell and _so_ turned on, it was like having the fever from a summer cold. For the longest time, it was just kissing, making out like teenagers, just feeling it like Jensen _never_ really had before.

By the time they were sitting a little further apart, well, Jared was still partially wrapped around Jensen. The sun was already dipping down below the horizon and Lexi had decided it was warmer by the cottage door than on the lawn.

“You have this way of making time irrelevant,” Jensen murmured into Jared’s hair. The giant of a man had, somehow, managed to get most of his body onto the long bench they were sharing on the front porch. It was, yet another, demonstration of how bendy Jared was. He was nestled up against Jensen’s side, head resting against his chest.

“Irrelevant?” Jared sighed and cinched his arm tighter around Jensen’s waist.

“I just find… I don’t care. I mean, how long have we been sitting out here?”

Jared squinted up at the sunset and then shrugged. “I dunno. Didn’t really notice. All I noticed was you.” He rested his head back against Jensen’s chest and loosened his grip enough that he could slide his hand over Jensen’s thigh. “You make me a little crazy.”

“Crazy in a good way, I hope.”

“Yeah. A good way.” Jared’s fingers were tightening on Jensen’s thigh. “I really like you, Jensen Ackles.”

“I like you a fair amount too, Jared Padalecki.” It hadn’t even been two weeks and Jensen _knew_ there was something special about Jared. It felt like there were already a lot of reasons for them to be together. So far, he couldn’t see a single reason for them to stop seeing each other. It was a little disconcerting to be considering _more_ when things were so fresh.

“You got quiet,” Jared said after a while. “What are you thinking about?” Jared’s hand slid along Jensen’s denim covered thigh, his fingers dipping closer to Jensen’s inner thigh.

Smiling, Jensen combed his fingers through Jared’s soft hair. “Just thinking about meeting you… this. What could happen; I don’t know.”

“Who knows what will happen.” Jared's voice was low, his fingers gliding back and forth on Jensen’s inner thigh.

Even through his jeans, Jensen could feel the heat of Jared’s hand. He wasn’t sure if he was being teased or if Jared wasn't even conscious of what he was doing. It didn’t really matter; either way, every single touch made Jensen’s nerve-endings come alive.

“I have to be back on set Monday.” Jensen couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped his lips.

“How long does it go on?”

“We film until July. Take a couple months off then start the next season.” It was a lot of work but Jensen couldn’t really complain. He enjoyed what he did and he had made some good friends over the years.

“Sounds like hard work. Is it worth it?”

Tilting his head slightly, Jensen frowned. He’d never really thought about it in quite that way. “I… think so. I mean, it’s a pretty cool job. I like the people I work with.”

“You don’t like some of the public stuff.” Jared rubbed his cheek against Jensen’s sweater then settled a little closer.

Jensen was a little surprised that Jared was able to _get_ closer. He was clearly fully committed to cuddling.

“No, I don’t,” Jensen finally said. “I mean, I get it. I know what I signed up for when I went into acting. I just didn’t think about the day to day stuff.”

“Being recognized?”

“Yeah,” Jensen answered. “And… just… people wanting to know everything about me.”

“Everything?”

Jensen was pretty sure that they were both well aware of what _everything_ included. After a deep breath, Jensen dropped his free hand to stroke Lexi’s head. “I remember the first time I took Danneel to an event with the press. Before I was even home that night, there were people talking about our history.”

“That fast, huh?” Jared let his head fall back slightly so he could look up at Jensen.

“It was pretty disturbing. _God_ ,” Jensen groaned. “My mother called me first thing in the morning. She’s always loved Danneel so I had to break her heart all over again.”

Jared chuckled softly. “Is she one of those Mama’s who wanted a daughter-in-law to shop with and two grandkids?”

Nodding, Jensen wrapped a strand of Jared’s hair around his finger. He liked the way it felt so strong even though it was soft and silky. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s okay with me being gay but, I guess she figured I might… change.” Jensen’s mother would be a bit naive about some things but he adored her.

“So. What happens the next time you have to appear at a red carpet gig?” Jared’s hand slid over Jensen’s zipper and under his sweater to settle on his belly. It felt good.

“Honest answer? I’m not a hundred per cent certain.” He felt Jared stiffen slightly against him.

“Yeah?”

“But, I like to think that I’ll be seeing someone who is patient and kind. Someone who’ll say yes when I ask him to go with me, even if I might look scared as hell.”

Jared slid his hand higher until it was over Jensen’s heart. He stared into Jensen’s eyes and smiled. “I think there’s a very good chance that you’ll be seeing someone who’s that patient.”

Some of the tension that had appeared in Jensen’s chest loosened and he gripped a handful of Jared’s hair tightly in his fist. After staring into the green and gold eyes for a while, Jensen leaned down and pressed his lips to Jared’s. It was a brief kiss.

Jared’s eyes were still closed when Jensen withdrew far enough to speak. “I think we should move to the bedroom for a while.”

Jared nodded. “Dinner can definitely wait a while.”

One more night.

-=-=-=-


	7. Can I Stay For A While?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient! Lots going on here at the moment :D

As soon as Jensen opened the door to his condo he saw Danneel. She was standing in front of the open refrigerator door with a glass of wine in one hand and a piece of cheese in the other. “You need groceries, Jensen.”

“Do you still have a condo of your own?” As his jacket slid off his shoulders, Jensen shook his head fondly. He’d actually missed Danneel while he was away so he was pleased to see her.

“Your condo always feels more like home.” Danneel leaned down into the fridge before emerging with a carrot in the same hand as her wine glass.

“How is that even possible?”

“I can’t explain it. Must be your stunning personality… you come home to me!” Danneel flashed a smile at Jensen as she headed over to his black, leather sofa.

Jensen slipped off his shoes and frowned when he looked over at Danneel. She was wearing sweatpants, a crop top, and wool socks. “Are you expecting a strange mix of weather?”

“I worked out, then I was chilly. I turned your heat on but it hasn’t warmed up in here yet.” The carrot snapped as Danneel bit the end off of it.

“Why don’t you just move in here? Have you even been to your own place today?” Jensen headed over to the couch and sat down next to Danneel.

Choosing to ignore Jensen’s question, Danneel held out the wine glass for Jensen as she took another bite of her carrot. “I’m ready for all the gory details about your weekend.”

Laughing, Jensen sniffed the wine, then had a sip. It was good. “We had a _great_ weekend.”

“Not quite the level of detail I was expecting.” Another snap of the carrot and Danneel was crunching again.

“What exactly do you want to know?” Jensen couldn’t help smirking. “Lexi loves me. Jared is just as fit naked as you’d think by looking at him. The sex was great. He’s not a fantastic cook but I think I can live with that. He works too hard. He loves to travel. Is that enough?”

When Jensen looked at Danneel, her bright pink lips were open in a small _O_. Her eyes widened ever-so-slightly as Jensen looked a little confused then she punched him _heard_ in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You had sex!”

“Well, yeah.” Jensen couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his face.

“And?”

"And,” Jensen said slowly. Hell, he could feel a twinge of heat at the base of his spine just thinking about it. “It was good.”

Danneel snatched her wine back and swallowed a couple of mouthfuls before handing it back. “Is he... proportional?”

“ _Jesus_ , Danneel!”

“I’m your best friend! Who else are you going to tell?” Smirking, Danneel leaned back and pulled her feet up onto the couch. She nibbled on the piece of cheese as she stared expectantly at Jensen.

“All I’m saying is that it was good and he’s a _very_ considerate lover.”

“Awww,” Danneel almost squealed. “You’re all smitten and shit, aren’t you?”

The phone rang where it sat on the coffee table and Jensen jumped and spilled wine on his shirt. “Shit.”

Reaching down, Danneel picked up the handset and looked at the display. “It’s the doorman, you expecting anyone?”

Brushing at the dark wine stain on his shirt, Jensen sat forward and set the glass down. “No. Could be some script revisions for tomorrow? New wardrobe. Sometimes, they forget to call me first.”

Danneel pressed the talk button and put the phone up to her ear. “Hi, Jackson. What’s up?”

Jensen headed into the kitchen and ran some paper towel under the tap so he could blot the wine up with it. “Do I put club soda on wine? Or something like that?”

“Yeah. But take it off and soak it in cold water in the sink.” Danneel listened to the door man on the phone then said, “Okay, send him up.”

“Who is it?” Jensen unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off as the sink filled with water.

“I told Jackson to send whoever it was up. You said it was a delivery.” 

Tossing his shirt into the sink, Jensen turned the tap off. “I said it _could_ be a delivery, Dani. I hope you didn’t just get Jackson to send a stalker to my door.”

Jensen sighed and dried off his hands then headed to the door. He was scowling over his shoulder at Danneel as he pulled the door open. “God, Danneel you bug me for details about my sex… life…”

As soon as the door was open, Jensen felt his cheeks begin to burn. Jared was standing in the hall with Lexi at his side. “Hi, Jared.”

Jared lifted his fingers in a slight wave as his gaze traveled down Jensen’s naked torso. “Half naked and talking about sex? You having a party?”

Shaking his head, Jensen pushed the door open wider. “Come in! Hey, Lexi.”

Lexi bounced once on her front paws then padded into the condo when Jared dropped her leash.

“Hi, Jared!” Danneel called out from where she was still perched on the couch. “I was attempting and _failing_ to get Jensen to tell me about your weekend. He’s very tight-lipped. Keeping all the juicy details to himself.”

Jared smiled at Danneel then leaned down to press his lips to Jensen’s. It was a brief kiss but lingered long enough for Jensen to wish they were alone. He found himself considering the possibility of running away when Jared slipped past him and headed over to the couch.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Danneel asked. She got to her feet when Jared nodded.

“It’s like I don’t even live here,” Jensen muttered.

“Oh, you _love_ me,” Danneel answered.

Lexi trotted along behind Danneel, no doubt hoping that there would be food involved in the trip to the kitchen.

“Is everything okay?” Jensen asked quietly as he reached Jared’s side.

“Yeah,” Jared answered. “I was _going_ to pretend that Lexi missed you but really…” Jared slid his hand down Jensen’s bare back. “It was me who missed you.”

Jensen felt a shiver run down his spine and let his lashes fall to his cheeks.

“Oh _my_ God,” Danneel said in a high voice.

Jensen’s eyes snapped open to see Danneel standing about six feet away with two glasses of wine. “What? Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah. S’just. You two are just _super_ hot together.” Licking her lips, Danneel walked slowly to where Jared was standing and handed him one of the wine glasses. “Here you go.”

When Jared took the wine, he looked over at Jensen. “It occurs to me that I didn’t even ask if it was ok for me to bring Lexi here.”

“Of course it is. I love her,” Jensen answered quickly. He patted his thigh and Lexi came bounding over to him then leaned against his leg. Jensen scratched her head and her tail thumped against the floor.

“Well,” Danneel said flatly. “I’m suddenly feeling as though my personal life is lacking.” She took a drink from the wine glass she's brought for Jensen and then handed it to him. She flopped down on the couch resignedly.

“Lacking in what exactly?” Jared asked as he sat down beside Danneel.

Danneel’s expression brightened and Jensen knew exactly why. He’d been on the receiving end of Jared’s attention. He knew how it felt, it was like being the only person in the room with him. 

“You two look happy,” Danneel said with a hint of a whine in her voice.

“Well,” Jensen said as he sat down on the other side of Danneel. “We had a good weekend.”

“I know because you wouldn’t tell me anything.” Danneel sank back into the sofa, pouted slightly and curled her fingers around the stem of her wine glass.

Jared sank back beside her and smiled as he took another sip of wine. “Can I tell you something, Danneel?”

Continuing to look down at her wine, Danneel nodded.

“I’m not going to take Jensen away from you; I know how much your friendship means to him.”

Just like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Jensen felt his heart grow about ten sizes in his chest until it was almost painful. Jared was really going to have to stop being so damned perfect.

When Danneel looked up, her eyes were wide and a little _too_ shiny. “I’m not jealous or anything,” she said unconvincingly.

“The way I see it, now you have two strapping young men in your life. One for each arm,” Jared said as he slid his arm over Danneel’s shoulders.

Danneel snuggled into Jared’s side and looked over at Jensen. “Jen? When you go away can I man-sit?”

Jensen laughed. “Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I think I’m being objectified,” Jared said as he tried to hide his grin.

“Well, you knew Dani and I were a package deal when you met me.” There was so much warmth in Jensen’s chest he felt like he was going to explode. He hoped that the completely dopey look on his face conveyed his gratitude to Jared.

“Okay,” said Danneel. She downed her wine and set the glass on the table once she’s managed to extricate herself from under Jared’s arm. “I’m going upstairs to work on a profile for a dating site. I will expect you both to help me vet incoming candidates later on this week.”

She leaned down and scratched Lexi behind the ears. “Nice to meet you, girl. Keep these boys in line.”

Lexi tilted her head slightly as she stared into Danneel’s eyes.

When Jensen made a motion to get up, Danneel waved him off. “Stay here with your man. I’ll text you tomorrow on my break.”

Jensen watched as Danneel stepped over Jared’s long legs.

“Bye, Danneel.” Jared took another sip of wine and looked at Jensen out of the corner of his eye once the door had clicked shut behind Danneel.

“ _That_ was very nice of you,” Jensen said softly. He moved a bit closer to Jared.

“I know what it’s like,” Jared answered. “My friend, Stephen got married last year. It felt really weird when everything changed.”

At the mention of marriage, Jensen couldn't help blinking a few times. “I suppose we all have times in our lives when we change… sometimes dramatically.”

“Yeah, but friendships are important. Especially something like what you and Danneel share.”

“We’ve been through a lot together.” It was true. Jensen wasn’t sure where he’d be if he hadn’t had Danneel in his corner over the years.

“Friends are good. My Mama used to say that if I had one good friend in my life then I was very lucky.”

“And do you?”

Silent for a while, Jared took a sip of wine and reached out to thread his fingers through Jensen’s. “I have Lexi.”

It seemed a little off to Jensen. He knew Jared had a lot of friends. He’d certainly mentioned a lot of names. And there was always Daniel. “We should have a little get-together. Bring some of our friends out of the woodwork and introduce them to each other.”

“Maybe,” Jared said as he set his glass down on the table. “I didn’t come here to plan a party.”

“No?” Jensen’s eyebrows lifted slightly and he took a sip of wine so he could peer at Jared over the rim of the glass.

“It’s been twenty-seven hours since I saw you. I figured I could stop by without looking too clingy.” Jared pulled one leg up onto the sofa and tugged.

Falling forwards, Jensen only _just_ managed to get his wine glass on the table before it spilled. He let himself be hauled up until he was lying in the V of Jared’s legs. He snaked an arm under Jared’s and rested his head on the man’s broad chest. “I’m glad you came over.”

Jared’s large hand smoothed over Jensen’s shoulder and up to the back of his neck. “This weekend was good.”

“It was.” Jensen reached out his free hand to scratch Lexi behind the ear. She looked longingly at the sofa.

“Oh no,” Jared said. “You stay down there.” His chuckle was deep and vibrated against Jensen's cheek. “I’m not sharing Jensen with you tonight.”

Jensen couldn’t help grinning. It wasn’t the most comfortable he’d ever been but he figured there was a learning curve when it came to lying with someone who was over six feet tall.

“What time is your set call tomorrow?” Jared asked.

Jensen groaned. “Seven in the morning. I have to drag my sorry ass out of bed at six thirty.”

“Can I stay for a while?” Jared asked quietly.

“Of course. Jared, are you sure everything is okay?” Jared seemed a little worn and Jensen was pretty sure that wasn’t his imagination.

Jared hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering. “Yeah, I’m okay now.”

Jensen didn’t want to push. “Can I get you anything?”

“Just you.” Jared’s arms tightened around Jensen and he shifted down slightly so their lips were almost touching. “Kiss me.”

It was an easy order to follow. Jensen lifted his chin slightly and caught Jared’s bottom lip between both of his own. He liked the way it felt to be lying against Jared’s firm body. It made him feel completely safe which was novel. With those arms wrapped around him, Jensen felt like he could take on the world.

Their mouths moved together slowly, Jared’s tongue slipping forward to run along Jensen’s lips almost imperceptibly. The touch was almost shy and Jensen let out a shaky breath against Jared’s mouth.

Deepening the kiss, Jared scratched his nails down the flesh of Jensen’s back then slid his fingers under the waistband of his jeans. One finger teased at the crack of Jensen’s ass and they both shifted slightly against each other. 

Jensen was already hard and aching. It didn’t take much where Jared was concerned. But, the kissing continued, soft and wet, their mouths moved together as their bodies managed to find a way to press even closer together.

Finally, Jared pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Jensen’s. “ I needed that today.”

Not bothering to ask why again, Jensen simply tipped his chin a little higher once more and brushed his lips along Jared’s. “I’m glad you came.”

Nodding, Jared leaned into the kiss for a few moments then pulled away to bury his face in Jensen’s hair. “You smell so good.”

As Jared’s arms tightened around Jensen, he sighed happily. “Want to get together tomorrow after I’m done on set? We could have coffee. Talk.”

“I’d love that,” Jared whispered to Jensen’s hair.

Frowning slightly, Jensen turned his head slowly so that he could press his ear to Jared’s chest. The steady thump of Jared’s heart was comforting.


	8. I Just Wanted It To Be Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared has an accident and calls... someone other than Jensen. An actor isn't all that available right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks. I will try to get the next chapter posted while I'm away but I'm not sure what the wifi situation will be like :) Don't give up on me though, I'll be back.
> 
> Thanks again Masja! For the beta and the whip-cracking hehehe

The week didn’t go quite as Jensen as hoped. Filming had been plagued with mishaps Monday, so Jensen had only managed to call and speak to Jared once. Tuesday there was some trouble with one of the shooting locations and they lost hours of filming time while things were sorted out. Wednesday a vehicle broke down on the way to set that was carrying the props for three scenes and that evening a guest star was mugged outside the airport and hospitalized for two days. By the end of the week, they were so far behind that they ended up working until 3 am. Jensen felt like a zombie by the time he was heading back to his condo.

He hadn’t managed to meet up with Jared all week. They’d exchanged a few texts and managed a phone call on Wednesday and then the week had just slipped away from Jensen.

The night of filming had been so crazy that Jensen hadn’t even checked his phone until he’d made it home. There was a single text from Jared.

_**Jared:** Call no matter what time you get in_

All Jensen did was slip out of his jacket and kick off his shoes before he was calling Jared.

“Hello, Jensen,” said a voice that was very much _not_ Jared.

Frowning, Jensen sank down onto his sofa. The voice on the other end of the phone _was_ familiar. “Uh, hi?”

“It’s Daniel.”

“Daniel? Oh. Is Jared there? He texted me earlier.” Jensen had no idea what Daniel was doing with Jared in the middle of the night. Of course, it was just another reminder that there was a lot he didn’t know about Jared.

“He’s sleeping. It was me who texted earlier. Not him.”

“Okay,” Jensen said warily. After such a long day, his brain wasn’t working well enough to keep up with all the thoughts flitting through it. “Is everything okay?”

“Jared was in an… altercation tonight. He was late leaving the shelter and he interrupted a fellow who was trying to break in.”

“Is he okay?” Jensen could feel the thump of his heart in his chest like the pounding of a hammer.

“He’s okay now. I insisted he go to the emergency room where we sat with some rather interesting people for a few hours. It was quite-”

“What _happened_ to Jared?” Jensen didn’t mean to raise his voice but he wasn’t sure why Daniel was talking about things that were of so little consequence.

“Calm down, Jensen. He’s still just as pretty as when you last saw him. He probably did more damage to the other guy.”

“I’m coming over. What’s his address?”

“You don't know his address?” Daniel sounded amused.

“ _Not_ the time, Daniel.” 

“Look. There’s no point in coming over tonight. I managed to browbeat him into taking the painkillers that the ER Doctor prescribed. He’s sleeping like a baby. A very large baby, mind you. I had a hell of a time getting him undressed and into bed.”

All Jensen could think about was how he was going to punch Daniel the next time he saw him. “Did you call me to gloat then?”

In an annoyingly amused voice, Daniel managed to sound entirely too calm. “Actually, you called me - or Jared. He didn’t want to bother you. I’m sure he’ll call you tomorrow when he wakes up.”

One hand jammed into his hair, Jensen nodded for a few seconds before he remembered that Daniel couldn't see him. “Was he hurt? Can you tell me that without trying to annoy me.”

“I’m hurt, Jensen. I”m just trying to be nice. It’s not my fault he didn’t want to call you earlier. And yes, I can tell you. He was hurt. Had a nice gash on his forehead from hitting the wall with it. He’s got some stitches and probably a slight concussion. There’s a sling on his arm because the guy managed to dislocate his shoulder. He’ll probably be off work for a couple of days, but he’s fine.”

“Thank you,” Jensen said begrudgingly. “Will you please let him know he can call me whenever he wants?”

“I shall. Night, Jensen. A pleasure, as alw-”

Jensen disconnected the call. He’d had as much as he could take from Daniel and he felt a little sick to his stomach. Why wouldn’t Jared have called him? They _were_ dating, and people who were dating phoned each other when they were in the fucking hospital.

Jensen hurried to the door and headed into the elevator. He didn’t care what time it was. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he strode towards Danneel’s door. After a few moments of fumbling through the pockets of his jeans, he found his key and let himself in.

“Dani!”

There was a muffled thump from the bedroom then a short silence. “I called 911!” Danneel yelled.

“It’s me!” Wasting no time, Jensen hurried into the bedroom and flicked on the light.

Danneel’s hair was in a messy pile on top of her head. She had the quilt pulled up to the tip of her nose and her phoned pressed to her ear. “Nevermind, it’s not a murderer, it’s my gay best friend who’d better be having a _big_ crisis or I’m going to break up with him.”

Danneel sat up a little straighter as she concentrated on whatever the 911 operator was saying. “Why, yes Ma’am. I apologize for wasting your time. I won’t do it again.”

Jensen blinked slowly as Danneel ended the call and let the quilt fall to her lap. She was wearing a blue, flannel nightgown with small, very happy sheep on it. “Jensen Ross Ackles, I would throw this phone at you if it was backed up, but there are three months worth of photo on here that I don’t want to lose.”

“I told you to use a wireless back up-”

“-Jensen! It’s the middle of the night! What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, Jensen took a couple of moments to try and sort out his thoughts. “Jared. He was - he stopped a break-in attempt at the shelter.”

Crawling to the edge of her bed, Danneel nearly fell off as she reached out for Jensen’s hand. “Oh my God. Is he okay? Do we need to go… somewhere?”

“No, he’s okay. He’s at home sleeping now.” Jensen sat down beside his friend and she reached out and cupped his cheek.

“Were you at the hospital all night?”

“No, I just got home from work.”

“I’m confused.”

“Daniel called me on Jared’s phone to let me know what had happened.” Jensen sighed and tightened his hold on Danneel’s hand.

“Wait. Posh-accent-jerk Daniel?”

Nodding, Jensen flopped back onto Danneel’s bed. “Right. Jared didn’t call _me_. He called Daniel. What am I supposed to make of that?”

“He was hurt, Jensen. I’m sure he wasn’t thinking all that clearly.” Danneel’s thumb rubbed over the back of Jensen’s hand as she peered down at him.

“I would have called _him_ ,” Jensen muttered. But even as he said it he knew there was a high probability that he’d phone Danneel.

“You’d better call me.” Danneel poked at Jensen’s rib cage with her finger.

“I’m exhausted and now I’m worried about Jared.” It wasn’t the best way for Jensen to start his weekend.

“Where do things stand now?” Danneel asked.

“I told Daniel to pass on that Jared could call me whenever he wanted. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later.”

“Did you bring your phone?”

“Pocket.”

“Good. Let’s go back to bed. Now, I know that the immediate crisis is over, I need the rest of my beauty sleep.” Danneel crawled back to the top of her bed and kicked her way under the quilt again.

“I’m sorry for waking you up,” Jensen said as he rolled off the bed. He tugged his shirt off over his head then took off his jeans. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and made sure the volume was up.

“Hit the light. You nearly blinded me before.”

“I said I was sorry.” Jensen swung past the light switch and flicked it off then climbed into Danneel’s bed.

As soon as Jensen was settled, Danneel wriggled closer and burrowed into his side. She yawned and kissed Jensen’s chest. “Do _not_ fret. He’ll call you tomorrow and when you know he’s okay then you two can talk about it.”

Jensen nodded and curled his arm around Danneel’s slight shoulders.

“Maybe you just have to say, next time call _me_ , Jared.” Dani yawned again and nestled closer.

Jensen closed his aching eyes and sighed. Maybe Danneel was right; she often was. Jared would call him in the morning and Jensen would make sure they talked about everything.

-=-=-=-

Jared called early. It took Jensen a few moments to wake up but he said he would be over as soon as Jared texted his address.

Less than forty-five minutes later, Jensen was showered, dressed and standing at Jared’s door.

When the door finally opened, it was Daniel who appeared. “Good morning, Jensen. What a pleasure.”

“Where is he?” Jensen asked as he stepped around Daniel and slipped his untied sneakers off.

“Talkative as ever.” Daniel pointed over his shoulder down the hall.

Without waiting for further explanation, Jensen headed down the hall. He emerged into a bright living room with huge windows. Jared was lying on a long sandy-brown sofa. “Jared?”

Sitting up a bit, Jared opened his eyes and smiled. “Hey, you didn’t have to rush here.”

Jensen headed straight over to the sofa and sat down at Jared’s hip. “You look terrible.”

Chuckling quietly, Jared caught Jensen’s hand. “Well, thank you.”

“You know what I mean.” Jensen leaned forward and very carefully brushed Jared’s hair back from his forehead.

There was a pretty big lump on the side of Jared’s forehead and there were ten or twelve stitches in the middle of it. The outer edge of Jared’s right eye was dark and he was probably going to have a hell of a black eye.

Jared shifted the arm that was in the sling. “It looks worse than it is.”

“You have a concussion,” Daniel said from behind Jensen. “Jensen?”

“Yeah?” Even though he very much wanted to ignore Daniel, Jensen turned towards him slightly.

“Can you stay with him?” Daniel asked. He already had his jacket on so he didn’t seem to be too worried about Jensen’s answer.

“Of course I can.” Jensen turned back to Jared. “I would have been here last night if you had called me.”

“Well,” Daniel said as he headed over and bent down to kiss Jared on the cheek. “That’s my cue to leave..”

“Thanks, Daniel,” Jared said quietly.

“My pleasure. Anything for you, Jay, you know that.” Daniel headed for the hall. “He’s not supposed to be alone for twenty-four hours, Jensen.”

Jensen watched until he heard the door close then he turned back to Jared. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Jared threaded his fingers through Jensen’s and looked down. “I needed someone who could come and get me. I didn’t want to get an ambulance.”

Feeling a little bit wounded, Jensen frowned. “I would have come and got you.”

Closing his eyes for a few moments, Jared sighed. When he looked up at Jensen, he smiled. “Jensen, all week, it took you hours to return my calls and texts. I get it. You’re filming. It wasn’t a personal slight or anything. I just knew that Daniel would be free.”

Okay, so Jared had a point. They hadn’t even been together two weeks. It hadn’t occurred to Jensen that he needed to be available for emergencies. “Alright, before I leave I will put my Producer’s cell number in your phone _and_ from now on, I will keep my phone with me even when I’m on set. I won’t leave it in my trailer.”

“You can’t just leave when you’re filming,” Jared protested.

“Fortunately, you don’t seem like the kind of man who fights with people on a regular basis. I’m sure, when there’s an emergency, we can shuffle things around.” 

“We haven’t been seeing each other very long, Jensen. I totally understand. These things take time.” Jared smiled a little more warmly and leaned back a bit.

“Get comfortable,” Jensen said. The last thing he wanted to do was add stress to the mix. Jared was dealing with enough already. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’m okay,” Jared answered. “Lots of fuss over nothing if you ask me.”

“Right, you go with that.” At least the fact that Jared was protesting meant he was probably okay. That had always been the theory Jensen’s Mom had subscribed too anyway.

Jared huffed but he shifted around a little to get more comfortable.

“Should you have ice on your shoulder? Your face?” Not sure what he should be doing, Jensen was kind of grasping at straws.

Looking a little amused, Jared tugged Jensen a little closer. “You didn’t even kiss me.”

Jensen finally smiled and leaned down to press his lips to Jared’s gently.

“I’m not gonna break,” Jared murmured when the kiss was over quickly.

“No, but you _do_ bleed and bruise quite badly.

“There goes the Captain America image I’ve been working on.” Jared grinned and tugged on Jensen’s hand again.

“You’ll always be my personal Captain America… although. You give off more of a _Thor_ vibe.” Jensen finally felt like he could relax completely. He was surprised at how stressed he’d been since he’d spoken to Daniel the night before.

“Thor?!” Jared snorted and rolled his eyes. “You’re just saying that because of my hair.”

“Don’t _ever_ cut your hair,” Jensen said quietly.

“No?” Jared lifted Jensen's hand to his mouth and kissed his fingers.

Shaking his head, Jensen leaned closer so he could press a kiss to Jared’s forehead. “I love your hair. I _really_ like having my hands in it when you fuck me.”

Jared pulled back slightly and his lips twitched into a sly smile. “Is that so?”

Nodding, Jensen kissed his way gently across Jared’s cheek. “Yes. So rest. And _heal_ quickly.”

Jared let out a mournful groan and sucked in a deep breath. “You’re killin’ me.”

“Not my goal.” Jensen swept the hair back off Jared’s forehead again. “You look really tired.”

“Those pain meds gave me weird fuckin’ dreams last night. I think I’ll stick to over-the-counter stuff.”

“Honestly, what did the doc say?” When Jensen looked around he noticed that Jared had eaten most of some toast and drank some orange juice.

“Twelve stitches. Minor concussion. Sling for a day or so. Physio after that. No heavy lifting for two weeks. No weights for at least six weeks.” Jared’s smile faded a bit.

“Oh no. No gym for a while.”

“I know. It sucks. I usually do a lot of lifting at work too.”

“I can help,” Jensen offered. He didn’t have a lot of free time but what he did have he would gladly donate to Jared’s work.

“That’s very sweet. But, Daniel’s going to go in the first couple of days I’m back. I’m off till Thursday.”

Jensen tried really hard to hide his distaste at hearing Daniel’s name again. Apparently, he didn’t do very well.

“Hey.” Jared squeezed Jensen’s hand until he looked up. “Daniel said you weren’t very happy he was here last night.”

“It wasn’t so much him being here,” Jensen said. “I just wanted it to be me.”

“We’ve been dating a couple of weeks, Jensen. I don’t expect you to drop everything and rearrange your life for me.” Jared stared for a few moments then struggled to shift on to his side so there was room for Jensen in front of him.

As soon as he lay down facing Jared, Jensen slipped his arm under the sling very carefully and pressed his palm to the small of Jared’s back. “I have a question.”

Jared’s eyelids looked heavy and he closed his eyes. “Mhmm?”

“Is it okay if I’m crazy enough to _want_ to drop everything for you even if it’s only been two weeks?”

Jared took a deep breath and leaned in to let his lips brush across the height of Jensen’s cheek. “I’m not gonna say it’s not okay, Jensen. You feel what you feel. I just… I don’t want us to rush.”

It was really hard for Jensen to see Jared’s answer as a positive thing. It didn’t feel positive at all. He nodded.

“Jensen?”

“You need something?”

“No, I need you to understand why I said that.” Jared waited until Jensen leaned back slightly and looked at him. “I said that because I get what you’re saying. I get it because I feel it too. There’s something going on here that feels pretty damned special, at least to me.”

A little relieved, Jensen nodded.

“But, I don’t want to screw it up by rushing into things we’re not quite ready for. Does that make sense?” Jared looked a little worried.

“That makes a lot of sense. But…” Jensen tilted his head slightly, looking down.

“But what?” Jared tensed a little under Jensen’s palm.

Smiling, Jensen looked up at Jared from under his lashes. “I have a feeling you’re going to be the one who always makes a little more sense. I’m an actor. We’re flaky and weird.”

“You scared me!” Jared tugged on Jensen’s hair. “Jerk.”

“Well, you worried me a hell of a lot last night, so I think we’re about even now.” Jensen was feeling _much_ better about everything. It had been a hell of a night but he couldn’t help thinking that he and Jared were finally on the right track. “Now, about Daniel.”

Chuckling, Jared kissed the end of Jensen’s nose. “What about him?”

“He stayed with you last night,” Jensen said trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

“You stayed with Danneel,” Jared said as he kissed Jensen’s cheek again.

“I did, but the difference is that I’m not attracted to her,” Jensen said. Okay, Danneel was beautiful but even _he_ had to admit that Daniel wasn’t an unattractive guy. If he would just keep his mouth shut, Jensen might even like him.

“You’re being sexist!”

Jensen laughed. “I am not! When I sleep with Danneel I’m not thinking about how attractive she is!”

“And I’m not thinking that about Daniel,” Jared answered quickly. His smiled warmed as he leaned in again to kiss the corner of Jensen’s mouth. “When he’s sleeping on the couch.”

“Oh,” Jensen said with a _huge_ smile on his face. “That’s alright then.”

Jared caught Jensen’s bottom lip between his teeth and tugged on it briefly. 

“Next time, though…” Jensen returned the kiss. “Call me, and I’m _not_ sleeping on the couch.

“Deal.” Jared caught Jensen’s mouth in a gentle kiss that lasted long enough to take Jensen’s breath away.


	9. Have Your Cake And Eat It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared makes dinner to thank his friends for taking care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovely beta hasn't looked at this yet, so don't blame Masja!!! :D

Jared was relieved to be back at work. His recovery had gone well, but he was really tired of being at home. He was even more tired of not being able to work out. Fortunately, it was Friday and he was almost ready to go home. He wanted things to go back to normal; he wasn’t all that good at being a _patient_.

He’d offered to make dinner for Jensen, Danneel, and Daniel. They’d all been a great help to him while he recovered. He was a little nervous about the combination; the mix of Daniel and Jensen hadn’t gone very well previously.

But, Jared was unfailingly optimistic. He liked Daniel and he _really_ liked Jensen so there had to be a way for it to work out.

Optimism.

By the time Jared was home with an arm full of groceries, he began to think it may have been easier to take everyone out for dinner. He knew how much Jensen appreciated a home cooked meal though. His time on set involved a lot of craft services and the quality was great but Jensen, sometimes, craved a simple meal. Anything that put a smile on Jensen’s face was a _very_ good idea.

After a very deep breath, Jared headed into his kitchen. “Give ‘em hell attitude,” he muttered to himself.

-=-=-=-

“Come in!” Jared called out. He was relieved he had left the door open. His hands were covered in powdered sugar that was now sprinkled all over the top of his apple cinnamon cake. “Make yourselves at home!”

Jared set the cake off to the side and leaned down to stir the marinara sauce. He’d get his guests a drink and then start the pasta. “Please work out,” he whispered.

“You talking to the food?”

Jared jumped and the sauce covered spoon flipped out of his hand and spun once before hitting the counter.

Jensen’s laugh sent a little shiver down between Jared’s shoulder blades. When he looked up, he couldn’t help the way his gaze took in all of Jensen. He was wearing tight black jeans with a thick leather belt and a white v-neck t-shirt. “Wow.”

Looking a little self-conscious, Jensen smoothed his hand down the front of his t-shirt. “Wow - I look underdressed, or wow, I look great?”

“Do you really have to ask me that?” Jared stepped in closer and leaned down to nuzzle Jensen’s cheeks. The scent of Jensen’s shaving soap mingled with his aftershave made a little burst of heat appear in Jared’s chest. “God, you smell good.”

Jensen’s arms slipped around Jared’s waist and he tucked his fingers into the back pockets on his jeans. “I missed you.”

Keeping his sugar-coated hands away from Jensen, Jared curled an arm around Jensen’s neck to pull him closer. He let his lips glide across Jensen's then rested their foreheads together. “How was your week?”

“Okay. Long, But, _so_ worth all the extra hours now that we have three whole days together.”

“Mmmhmm.” Jared pressed his lips to the apple of Jensen's cheek and smiled when he felt the tickle of lashes on the tip of his nose.

“That is,” Jensen said in a low voice. “If you _want_ to spend the weekend with me again.”

Jared snorted and dipped down to capture Jensen’s bottom lip between both of his. He felt Jensen press closer and couldn't help the moan that slipped free.

“Never gets old,” Danneel said from the kitchen door.

Grinning, Jared turned slightly so he could see Danneel. “Hello, gorgeous.”

Danneel flipped her hair back off her shoulders and curtsied.

“What’s goin' on in here? Some sort of meeting?” Daniel strode up behind Danneel and held out a bottle of wine. “Far Niente Cab.”

“But is it good?” Jared asked with raised eyebrows.

“Neanderthal,” Daniel murmured as he set the wine on the counter. “I'll get the wine glasses. Danneel?”

“What?” Danneel batted her eyelashes and waved Daniel away. “I’ll be in here watching… the cooking.”

Laughing, Jensen slid his hands out of Jared’s pockets and stepped back slowly. His dark eyes found Jared’s and he ran his tongue along his full bottom lip. “I’ll help Danneel set the table.”

Jared sighed and licked the powdered sugar off his index finger. When he noticed Jensen’s eyebrows inch up, Jared smiled crookedly, shrugged, and slid another finger past his lips.

“Oh my God,” Danneel said. She hooked a finger into Jensen’s belt loop and tugged him back out of the kitchen. “Cook, Jared. Jensen? You come out here and… just come out here.”

Shrugging helplessly, Jensen let himself be tugged out of the kitchen.

“Right,” Jared said under his breath. “Cooking.”

-=-=-=-

It hadn’t taken very long at all for the pasta to disappear. Even Daniel complemented Jared on his cooking.

The first bottle of wine had vanished quickly and Jared had busted out a second with dessert.

There was a lot of laughter by the time Jared brought the apple cake out to the table. “Made following my Mama’s handwritten recipe,” Jared announced.

There was an enthusiastic round of applause and Danneel shifted the plates and glasses aside. “Okay, I am _so_ ready for cake.”

“Get in line, Sister,” Daniel deadpanned.

Jensen laughed and reached out to rub the small of Jared’s back. “Well, if it tastes half as good as it looks...”

Jared’s mind was instantly busy with the ideas that appeared involving Jensen and taste; none of which were appropriate dinner talk.

“Whatever will you two do with your long weekend?” Daniel asked dryly. He watched as Jared set the cake down in the middle of the table.

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Jensen answered. His fingers curled into Jared’s t-shirt possessively.

Okay, so maybe the whole Jensen and Daniel becoming friends thing was highly unlikely. Still, there were some definite advantages to Jensen being a little jealous. The whole possessive thing was _really_ a good look for Jensen.

“Boys, be nice,” Jared admonished as he picked up a knife and began to doll out pieces of cake to awaiting hands.

Daniel scowled at Jared as he took his slice of cake. “Jensen and I are fine. He just seems to harbor an insane notion that I have designs on you.”

Jensen snorted derisively but he didn’t deny it.

There was absolutely nothing between Jared and Daniel but friendship. _Nothing_. Jared enjoyed Daniel’s witty banter and caustic sense of humor. But, Jensen kind of eclipsed everyone as far as Jared was concerned.

“Three attractive men,” Danneel said with a mouthful of cake. “And you’re all gay. What are the odds?”

“In this town? Remarkably high,” Daniel answered as he topped up Danneel’s wine.

Jared winked at Jensen then sat down to attack his own cake. As he stabbed his fork in, Jared looked across at Daniel. “You’ve been known to spend some time in the company of women.

“I certainly have,” Daniel agreed. “Marvelous creatures, even if they can be a little unpredictable.”

“Unpredictable?!” Danneel tossed her fork down and punched her small fist into Daniel's shoulder as hard as she could.

Jared tuned out the comic bickering and leaned in to whisper next to Jensen’s ear. “I can’t wait to get my hands on you later.”

Jensen choked on the mouthful of cake he was chewing and Jared patted him on the back helpfully. He _loved_ that they were still at the stage of their relationship where he could shock Jensen a little. The thing was, whenever Jensen was within reach, Jared had trouble thinking about anything _other_ than touching him. In retrospect, it had been a good idea to invite Daniel and Danneel because it forced him to behave for a while. He and Jensen didn’t get to talk enough and Jared had enjoyed the evening.

Leaning back against his chair, Jared smiled smugly and licked his lips. He jumped when he felt Jensen’s hand slid over his thigh. His knee hit the table and he shrugged at Daniel’s curious glance. “Sorry. Too much sugar.”

Jensen, the bastard, continued to eat his cake like _nothing_ at all was going on.

As Jared watched a small piece of cake disappear past Jensen’s lips, he felt his boyfriend’s fingers creep over his thigh and slide down between his legs. Jared chewed on the side of his bottom lip and tried to concentrate on the conversation that Danneel and Daniel were having.  
“Women would rule the world if you all would just get the hell out of the way! Right, Jared?” Danneel stared at Jared pointedly.

“Yes,” Jared agreed quickly. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was agreeing to, but whenever Danneel expected his agreement it was probably a good idea to give it. 

“Traitor,” Daniel said as he smiled wickedly. He was obviously just enjoying the argument. 

“I love women,” Jared said easily. That much was true. “My mom is a woman and so is my sister. And … “ Jensen’s fingers slid higher and Jared could feel the press of them against his crotch.

“And?” Daniel lifted an eyebrow and leaned forward. “I’m waiting with baited breath.”

Jared tried to roll his eyes but figured he probably looked more like he was having a seizure because Jensen picked that exact moment to lift his hand and flick the button on Jared’s jeans open. “And, I think. Well, Danneel’s a woman and she’s f-fantastic.”

“Have you had too much wine, Jared?” Danneel looked a little concerned and reached across the table to pat Jared’s hand. 

All Jared could think was, _thank God there’s a tablecloth._ “Yeah, probably. I had some pain medication earlier.”

Jensen swallowed a mouthful of cake and looked over at Jared innocently. “You want me to get you a glass of water?”

Jared tried to contain the shit-eating grin that was fighting to control his face. “I’m good. I’m really good. Stay here.”

Daniel shook his head fondly and leaned back in his chair. “How many more weeks of filming for you, Jensen?”

“Only eight more and then I have three months off,” Jensen answered as his fingers found the clasp on Jared’s zipper.

Slouching down in his chair, Jared rolled his lips together as he felt the annoyingly slow vibration of his zipper traveling down. Jensen was a fucking wizard. He was nonchalantly eating his cake with his right hand and breaking and entering with his left. The only sign that he was _really_ doing what he was doing was the red blush that was creeping across his cheeks. Jared knew Jensen was turned on; he’d seen it enough to know what it looked like. He hoped that their friends would read it wrong.

“Are you two planning a trip or something?” Danneel asked. She set her wine down long enough to sweep her hair back off her face. “Do you have vacation time coming, Jared?”

“Me? Yeah. I mean, sure. I can go on vacation,” Jared said a little too quickly. His jeans were being pushed open and _Jesus_ , he’d never been so thankful for baggy pants. Jensen’s warm fingers slid into the split denim and pressed against the hardening bulge in Jared`s boxers.

“We really should plan something, Jared. It would be fun. Maybe a road trip and some camping?” Jensen turned slightly and smiled at Jared as his fingernails scratched over the jersey cotton of Jared's boxers.

Jared's lashes fluttered for a moment and he cleared his throat to try and fight off the urge he had to moan wantonly. He wetted his lips as his addled brain tried to focus on the question. “Camping? You. I didn’t think you were much of a camping guy.”

For the slightest moment, Jensen looked impressed and Jared felt a flush of pride. Yes, he could still get enough blood to his brain to answer a simple question.

It was Danneel’s turn to grin. “Jensen used to camp with his family every summer in Texas. He’s an expert at setting up a tent and I’m pretty sure he’s never had sex in one so -”

“- Oh, for heaven’s sake, spare me,” Daniel said as he laughed.

“As a matter of fact,” Jensen said teasingly. 

Jared opened his mouth to say… something... and Jensen’s fingers slid stealthily under the waistband of his boxers. The heat of Jensen’s flesh felt like a branding iron against Jared’s erection. His balls throbbed slightly and he had to take in a very careful breath to keep himself from just reaching over and grabbing Jensen.

The conversation moved on, Danneel began to tell a story about one of Jensen’s camping trips when he forgot the food. It was his only responsibility. 

With bleary eyes and one hand clenched into a tight fist where it rested on the table, Jared smiled weakly at, what he hoped, were appropriate moments. He wasn’t entirely sure because Jensen’s thumb was sweeping up and down Jared’s, now swollen, cock. Strong fingers curled around his shaft and squeezed enough that Jared’s body jerked forward as pleasure shot through him. 

Jensen shifted slightly and set his fork down. “God, that was _so_ good, Jared,” he said in a thick voice. 

When Jared managed to look to his side, Jensen was licking the powdered sugar off his bottom lip as his fingers stroked in a painfully slow rhythm along Jared’s aching flesh.

Nodding slowly, Jared leaned a little closer to Jensen as Daniel began to tease Danneel again. His teeth grazed Jensen’s earlobe briefly then his whispered, “You’re killing me.”

Tilting his head slightly, Jensen looked at Jared from under his stupidly, long eyelashes. He still had that attempt-at-an-innocent expression on his face. “You tired, Jared?”

“God, we’re idiots,” Danneel exclaimed. “Jared’s just had his first week back at work, then cooked us dinner and we’re still here blathering away.”

Jensen’s fingers slid free of Jared’s boxers slowly, the pads of them grazing over the pre-come covered head of his cock before withdrawing. “He probably won’t admit it, but I think he looks a little tired.”

Daniel nodded and looked a little suspicious. “I’m pretty sure he isn’t ti-”

Danneel’s fist connected with Daniel’s shoulder again and he grunted. “Daniel, please. We’re supposed to completely ignore the fact that one of them is _definitely_ messing with the other under the table.”

Laughing, Daniel set his wine down so he didn’t spill it. “I really don’t think I want to know any more about what’s going on. Danneel, I’m still enjoying your delightful company, may we adjourn together to a less… charged environment?”

“Absolutely,” Danneel said.

Groaning in embarrassment, Jared slid both hands under the tablecloth as subtly as he could so that he could pull up his zipper. He shifted restlessly as his cock was trapped under the denim. “I am a little tired actually,” he said. “And Jensen isn’t touching me.”

Jensen smiled and folded his arms across his chest pointedly.

“Right,” Danneel said. She tugged Daniel to his feet and urged him towards the door. “Leave these two with the mess, they won’t care in about three minutes.”

It took entirely too long for Daniel and Danneel to leave. There was hugging and kissing and goodbyes and Jensen chatted with Danneel for a while about some kind of … something… they were planning the following week.

Jared’s balls were aching and he had nearly chewed his bottom lip raw by the time the door closed behind their friends. “Finally,” Jared growled.

He didn’t want another moment before pinning Jensen to the door and crowding into his space. He could feel the solid press of Jensen’s hard-on against his own thigh and leaned down to capture Jensen’s mouth in a forceful kiss. 

Jensen tasted like cake and wine and his hands slipped quickly along Jared’s jaw to tangle in his hair. He held on so tightly that Jared grunted into the kiss and leaned a little harder on Jensen’s solid body.

The kiss was hot and wet, and Jared pushed past Jensen’s plush lips to claim his mouth completely. _God_ , there was very little that was better than Jensen’s mouth. Finally, requiring air slightly more than he needed to kiss Jensen, Jared withdrew slightly. “You got me so turned on it was almost painful.”

“Almost?” Jensen had that wide-eyed, innocence on his face again. Combined with the blush that was painted at the height of his cheeks, his kiss-swollen lips made him look like some sort of sex kitten.

Jared had all kinds of ideas of what to do with Jensen. “Almost,” he repeated. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

There was something about the enigmatic smile on Jensen’s spit-slick lips and the slight tilt to his head that made Jared’s heart thump a little faster. Jensen was beautiful to look at, but he was also one of the most genuine people Jared had ever met. He probably didn’t have the slightest idea of how Jared ached for him when they were apart and how scary that felt so soon in their friendship.

Scratching his nails along Jared’s scalp, Jensen leaned into trace Jared’s lips with the very tip of his tongue. When he’d made the full journey, he let his head fall back against the door and jutted his hips forward. “I wanted you all week. I kept thinking about you… your hands, your mouth… while I was supposed to be working. You owe me. I’m sure I looked like an idiot all week.”

Chuckling softly, Jared slid his hands down the door and tucked them behind Jensen to get two handfuls of his muscular ass. There had been times in the past when Jared had been self-conscious about his height and his strength but not with Jensen. With Jensen, all Jared could think about was how hot it was to be with a guy almost as tall as him, fit and slender in the right places and soft and smooth in the right places.

Jensen’s eyes darkened and he rolled his bottom lip under his top teeth as his lashes fluttered closed slowly. “God.”

There wasn’t another word of encouragement needed for Jared to _move_. He broadened his stance and leaned back slightly then lifted Jensen up by his ass. Jensen’s strong legs hooked around Jared’s waist and he cinched his arms around Jared’s neck.

Enjoying the press of his lover’s body, Jared rested Jensen back against the door as he mouthed his way down his neck. He could feel the shake of his own muscles as he strained to hold Jensen up there, but _fuck_ it was worth it. 

“Your shoulder,” Jensen grunted out as he tipped his head back as far as he could. 

Nudging the collar of Jensen’s t-shirt aside, Jared nipped at Jensen’s flesh. “Don’t care,” he murmured in between bites of his lover’s delicious flesh.

“You will,” Jensen admonished. He struggled slightly in Jared’s hold, and the friction against Jared’s cock was enough to make him feel a little dizzy. “Down.”

Gasping for air, Jared leaned back enough to allow Jensen’s to slide down his body. It was agonizing hot and not-nearly-enough and Jared moaned quietly. 

Jensen’s fingers were moving through Jared’s hair restlessly, nails scratching at his scalp, and he leaned up on his toes slightly to brush his lips back and forth against Jared’s mouth. “Let’s go to bed.”

Certain he couldn’t answer without sounding like a fool, Jared just nodded and walked backward a few steps. His hands slid up over Jensen’s sides then down his arms until their fingers were tangled together. “I want you.”

Jensen’s glistening lips parted to release a sweet gasp and his smile took on a more blissful look. A muscle in his jaw twitched and Jensen shoved at Jared’s chest to get him moving. He sucked in a deep breath as Jared turned and tugged Jensen after him.

Tearing his gaze away from Jensen’s beautiful face, Jared strode towards the bedroom. Everything in his body ached with want and as overwhelming as it was, it was also one of the best things he’d ever felt. He couldn’t take another moment of not being pressed up against the sweet heat of Jensen’s sweat-slick skin. It was a memory so clear in his mind he could almost taste it.

The moment they were in the bedroom, Jared spun and grabbed Jensen’s t-shirt to pull it off.

“In a rush, Jared?”

“You have _no_ idea,” Jared answered. He pushed up against Jensen again, enjoying the way he could tower over him. “I need you.”

For the briefest moment, Jared felt a spark of heat at his choice of words. He hoped Jensen wouldn’t take it the wrong way, spin it a little out of perspective. But, he didn’t have to worry.

Jensen smiled the soft smile that made Jared’s heart flutter in his chest. His hands trailed down Jared’s chest and he pushed him towards the bed.

It was going to be a great weekend.


	10. An Appetizer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have finally finished my big bang so I can dedicate more to this and wind it up a bit :D

“You taste like icing,” Jared murmured into Jensen’s mouth.

“Cake,” Jensen said as he withdrew long enough to get some air.

Their lips collided again, Jensen moaned and scratched his nails gently down Jared’s shoulders.

"I'm not gonna break," Jared murmured. He was licking and biting his way down the side of Jensen's neck.

"You're right," Jensen said as he stepped back. He groaned, letting his hands fall from Jared's arms. They were still standing at the foot of the bed, and at the rate they were going, that's where they'd still be in an hour. "Sit."

Lifting an eyebrow, Jared swept his hair back and smirked. "I like it when you get all bossy."

Jared sank down onto the end of the bed and looked up at Jensen hungrily.

"You gonna behave?" Jensen rubbed his hand across his bare belly and felt a little thrill when Jared's gaze flicked down.

"I'm behaving," Jared said in that honey-and-whisky voice of his. He reached down and palmed himself through his jeans as his eyes trailed back up Jensen's body.

"I don't want you to strain your shoulder again. You do what I tell you or we're not doing this." As tough as he sounded, Jensen wasn't sure he had the willpower to make good on his threat. Jared was hotter than hell on a bad day, and well, it wasn’t a bad day.

"Yes, Jensen," Jared said with a smirk on his face. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair again. It was almost as though he knew that Jensen found that maneuver a bit hot. No, it was _exactly_ like he knew that.

Heat was seeping into Jensen's bones and he could feel the ache in his cock that always made it difficult to keep any kind of reasonable pace when it came to Jared. _This_ time, Jensen was determined. "Take your shirt off."

Without the slightest change in his expression, Jared reached down and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt then pulled it up and off over his head. His tousled hair fell around his face again and he shook it away as he tossed the shirt aside. He licked his lips in the dirtiest way.

Taking a moment to swallow around the lump in his throat, Jensen blinked his eyes slowly. He could do it. He _really_ could. "Just get undressed, and lay down. Make sure your shoulder is comfortable."

Jensen headed over to switch the lamp on, but he didn't take his eyes off Jared. He watched as Jared slipped out of his jeans and underwear, then pulled his socks off. He stood – the tease – and stretched his back lithely before walking around to _his_ side of the bed and lying down.

_Since when did they have sides on the bed?_

Once he'd switched the overhead light off, Jensen walked around to stand beside Jared. He took all that flesh in with his gaze. His eyes lingered on Jared's hip, he loved the way his body was so sculpted, and the smattering of moles that graced his smooth skin were the perfect exclamation points.

Jared propped himself up on his elbows and stared up at Jensen.

Jensen trailed his fingers down Jared's arm, over the swell of his muscles and the roadmap of veins that were only-just visible. "Make sure you take care of that shoulder."

Nodding, Jared rolled his bottom lip under his teeth. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and Jensen watched his lover's muscular chest rise and fall with a little tremble. _He_ did that to Jared, and that fact made Jensen's next breath a little shaky.

Eyes locked with Jared's, Jensen rested one knee at Jared's hip then swung the other leg over the man's body. He sat down slowly on Jared's thighs and the heat of Jared's flesh sent more ripples of want and desire surging through him.

“So.” Jensen placed both palms on Jared’s chest. He trailed the tip of one finger over Jared’s left nipple and watched as it hardened into a small peak. “I want you to just lie there and enjoy yourself.”

Eyes widening slightly, Jared opened his mouth as though he were about to speak but then just nodded. He reached out and slid his hands over Jensen’s thighs. “This okay?”

Jensen took a deep breath and leaned down to kiss Jared softly. He lingered there, breathing in and out slowly, staring into Jared’s eyes. “It’s okay.”

The way Jensen’s heart was thumping was making him feel a little dizzy in the best possible way. Hell, Jared just had to look at him for his pulse to quicken. He _knew_ the look on Jared’s face: the heavy eyelids over dark pupils, the way his lips twitched as he watched Jensen and the way sweat glistened on his forehead and down his neck.

Jensen had no idea how he ended up lucky enough to find Jared.

“What you thinkin’ about, Jen?”

“You.”

“Well, that’s good. Care to share?” Jared kissed Jensen’s bottom lip and smiled.

Sitting back slightly, Jensen slid his hands further down Jared’s body. “Thinking about how lucky I am.”

“See,” Jared said between lingering kisses, “that’s where you’re wrong. It’s me who’s lucky.”

The kisses were making Jensen’s skin prickle down the back of his neck. “We could argue back and forth all night… or.”

“Or?”

“Or,” Jensen continued, “we do something _way_ more entertaining.” Smiling, Jensen sat up and settled his ass back on Jared’s thighs. He loved having Jared pinned under him, he might like to be the one being fucked but that didn’t mean that he didn’t like being in control sometimes.

“Whatever you want,” Jared said softly. HIs fingers dug _hard_ into Jensen’s thigh muscles.

“I knew you were a smart guy.” Jensen knelt up and fell forwards so he was supporting himself. He paused there, teasing, lips hovering just out of Jared’s reach.

Jared didn’t say a word, but he let out a tight moan that only emboldened Jensen.

After a long, lingering look at Jared, Jensen pressed his lips to the middle of Jared’s chest. He breathed in the scent of Jared’s aftershave lotion, the hint of sweat and he let his tongue drag over warm flesh.

Arching up off the bed, Jared let his arms fall to his sides. Out of the corner of his eye, Jensen saw Jared tightening his fingers into the quilt.

Jensen’s lips curved into a smile against his lover’s chest and he mouthed his way down until he could nuzzle the trail of hair running down Jared's midline. “Wanna make you feel good.”

“Always do,” Jared murmured. His hips twitched up as Jensen’s tongue dipped into his belly button. “Shit.”

Laughing quietly, Jensen crawled back a bit further and mouthed his way along the beautiful cut of Jared’s abs. He took a moment to trace his finger over Jared’s hip bone. He loved the way Jared was so broad shouldered but had such a tapered waist. His body was _exactly_ Jensen’s type.

Restless and panting softly, Jared was _trying_ to stay still. Jensen appreciated the effort; he really did, and it was hotter than hell watching Jared struggle with his urges.

Jensen felt the slick head of Jared’s cock against his cheek. Still smiling, he sucked hard at the sensitive furrow beneath Jared’s hip bone. He took the opportunity to rock his hips forward and rub his aching shaft against Jared’s leg.

As Jared’s body jerked again, Jensen rubbed his cheek against the cock that was weeping precome. “Mmmm.”

“Jesus, Jen.” There was tightness in Jared’s voice, a bit of impatience and a lot of _want_.

But, Jensen was nowhere near being done. He worked his way back up Jared’s body as slowly as he could manage. It wasn’t exactly torture to mouth and taste _every_ part of that delectable length of flesh in front of him. Each time he licked Jared’s sweat-salty skin, Jensen was sure he could feel his heart twitch in his chest. He kissed his way across Jared’s chest, sucked a hard nipple in between his lips and rolled it between his teeth until Jared swore under his breath.

When Jensen reached for the bottle of lube on the nightstand, he had to pause to stare at Jared’s face. He looked perfect and he looked a bit strung out. There were damp strands of hair plastered to his forehead, his skin was ruddy, his eyes were closed and his long lashes were fanned out against his cheeks. Jensen was in a _lot_ of trouble.

Fumbling with the lube, Jensen finally managed to get the bottle open. He poured the cool, slick, liquid on his hand and sat back so he could curl his hand around Jared’s cock.

A shockwave made Jared’s body bend up off the bed, his hips jerked forwards then back to slid his shaft through Jensen’s grip.

What Jared didn’t know was that Jensen had already prepped himself earlier. He knew the fastest way to get _exactly_ what he wanted.

After a few more strokes, Jensen leaned forward slightly and positioned Jared’s cock where he ached for it.

“Jen, you - I haven’t -”

Jensen sank down onto Jared’s cock. The stretch of it was almost painful but the pleasure that clung vine-like to Jensen’s spine swept the hurt away.

Jared’s hands grasped Jensen’s waist tightly and he bent his legs up with a low moan. “God, Jen, you okay?”

Taking in a few slow, deep breaths, Jensen nodded. He let the sensation of fullness wash over him, the heat of Jared’s body, the strength of the hands that were gripping him so possessively.

The ache in Jensen’s ass felt good, sweet and he knew he would never get tired of it. He eased himself up with trembling thighs until Jared _almost_ slid free. Then at exactly the right moment, he sank back down.

“Fuck,” Jared said breathlessly. He smoothed his hands up along Jensen’s sides, his nails were sharp where they dug in.

Jensen reached back with his right hand to brace himself on Jared’s thigh, his left settled over Jared’s heart. His hips rocked forward, then back, and fell into a sweet rhythm. His legs ached and he could feel the way Jared’s muscles tensed and released under his palms.

Jared snapped his hips up off the bed and the head of his cock slammed against Jensen’s prostate. White heat, shot up Jensen’s spine and his vision faded at the edges. His spine felt like it was on fire and his rhythm faltered as Jared hit the mark again and again.

They settled into a rhythm. Jared’s grasp was firm again on Jensen’s waist. He grunted softly, moaned and twisted his hips as he fucked up into Jensen’s aching ass.

The swell of pleasure in Jensen’s gut was almost unbearable. He rode Jared’s cock, hips rolling as he tried desperately to breathe. He bit down hard on his bottom lip, and scraped his blunt nails down Jared’s chest.

Hips snapping up, Jared moaned long and low. His thumb swept over the leaking head of Jensen’s cock and that sealed his fate.

Jensen gasped desperately for air, thru his head back and closed his eyes. His release punched into him and he came so violently that he couldn't help the way his body curled forward.

Come pulsed from Jensen’s shaft and landed on Jared’s chest. Jensen dragged his hand through the warm splatter as he sat back.

Pounding up into Jensen’s body, Jared swore, and his hips jerked, then he cried out as he came. His muscles seized up and the tendons in his neck corded as his body jolted and twisted.

Heart fluttering, Jensen finally felt his muscles in his arms weaken and he fell forward into Jared’s spasming body.

Gasping for air, Jensen kissed Jared’s temple, slid his slack mouth down along his cheek. Boneless and still trembling, Jensen felt Jared’s arm wrap around him tightly. “God, I love… this.”

Jensen’s breath caught as the words were said hot and low against his ear. He lay there panting, feeling the rise and fall of Jared’s broad chest beneath him.

“Let go. I”ll get off you,” Jensen managed to say after a _very_ long time.

All Jared did was shake his head and cinch his arms a little tighter.

-=-=-=-

Once they’d finally recovered enough, Jared and Jensen slipped into Jared’s over-sized shower to get clean. They toweled each other off and retreated to the bed on shaky legs.

“Good start to the weekend,” Jensen mumbled as he climbed back into the messy bed.

“An appetizer,” Jared teased. He laid down on his back and motioned for Jensen to settle against his side.

“There’s a fair in town this weekend. Want to go tomorrow?” Jensen felt a little ridiculous suggesting that they go, but he’d always wanted to go with a… friend.

“Is there a ferris wheel?”

“There is,” Jensen answered.

“Can I take you on it and kiss you at the top?” Jared slid his hand over Jensen’s.

“You absolutely can,” Jensen answered easily.


	11. Crazy But Amazing

The fair was set up on the grasslands behind the closest shopping Mall to Jensen's condo. Much to her chagrin, Lexi had been left behind at Jared's after he promised her an extra long walk when he got home.

Jared parked near the end of the Mall and he and Jensen walked over to the bright lights of the fair.

"Do you remember the first fair you went to?" Jared asked as they walked towards a lighted arch with a rather imposing clown head on it.

"I don't know," Jensen answered. "I think I remember the whole family going to see a circus. You know, back before we knew how terrible they were."

"I _think_ the first fair I went to was when I was about five or six. Mostly, I remember my brother throwing up in the car on the way home because he ate an entire bag of mini-donuts."

Laughing, Jensen pulled out his wallet and paid for a handful of ride tickets for them. He folded the tickets up and handed them to Jared. "I would have though, with your sweet tooth, that you would have stolen at least half of them."

"I'm more of a candy floss kind of guy myself," Jared said with a serious look on his face.

Grinning, Jensen looked down at his feet so he didn't flash teenage-heart-eyes at his date. "I'll be sure and get you some later if it will earn me points."

"Absolutely!" Jared slipped his arm over Jensen's shoulders and pulled him close to his side. "Not that you need any more points after last night."

The blush that popped onto Jensen's cheeks was almost immediate. "Can never have too many points."

"Are you blushing, Mr. Ackles?" Jared leaned down to peer at Jensen's face.

"Oh, shut up, or I won't ride the Ferris wheel with you." The way Jensen's heart was flipping around in his chest, he was beginning to think that Jared might _actually_ cause his death on one of their dates.

"Yes, you will," Jared said confidently. "I have no doubt about it." Loosening his hold on Jensen's shoulders, he grabbed his hand instead.

It was pure reflex for Jensen to look around. He was in exactly the right environment to stumble across fans. _Not_ how he wanted things to go down. Fortunately, no one seemed to be looking at them.

"You okay?" Jared squeezed Jensen's fingers.

Nodding, Jensen forced a smile back onto his face and rolled his shoulders to get rid of some of the tension. "Just keeping an eye out for fans. The usual."

"You okay with _this_?" Jared squeezed Jensen's hand again then held their hands up slightly.

In a perfect world, Jensen would have liked for the whole _coming out_ process to go a little slower. But, it was important to Jared that they not hide. And really? Two men holding hands shouldn’t mean a damned thing to anyone.

Jensen squeezed Jared's hand in return and smiled up at him. "It's fine. I'm just not used to it. Doesn't mean I want to change anything."

"Fair enough." Nodding, Jared pulled Jensen further into the crowd. "I smell cotton candy."

Letting himself be pulled along, Jensen chuckled.

-=-=-=-

The Ferris wheel was higher than Jensen had expected so it was windy and cool, but he _loved_ it. Being up so high made it seem like he and Jared were in a world of their own.   
And the moment Jared’s mouth claimed his, they _were_ on their own; they could have been a hundred miles away from another soul.

Jared tongue was hot and insistent against Jensen’s lips so he gave in quickly. Jared's hands move along Jensen's neck as he slid his tongue forward. The kiss was cotton candy sweet and sugary and as Jared's tongue pressed against his Jensen felt his chest begin to ache with pleasure.

When Jared’s tongue slipped back, his teeth caught Jensen’s bottom lip and he bit down enough to solicit a deep moan. Even with the wind whipping at their jackets, Jensen could feel heat building in his chest, insistent, pressing his entire body forward. They only stopped kissing because they still needed to breathe; and Jensen found himself panting softly as he sat back and smiled. “Best Ferris wheel ever.”

Chuckling, Jared stretched his leg out and adjusted his jeans.

Leaning over the safety bar and looking down, Jensen frowned. “Not that I’m complaining, but haven’t we been up here longer than everyone else was?”

The crooked grin on Jared's face was a dead-give away that he knew something. "Turns out if you slip the operator a twenty the machine breaks down for a bit when you're up at the top with your man."

Mouth open slightly in surprise, Jensen sat back and stared at Jared. "You didn't."

Nodding, Jared slid his arm along the back of the colorful metal seat then pulled Jensen closer again. "You promised me kissing at the top so I wanted to make sure we had lots of time."

There were some things about Jared that were almost too good to be true: his romanticism was one of them. "You're amazing," Jensen almost whispered. "Crazy, but amazing."

"Does that deserve more kissing then?" The colored lights from the center of the Ferris wheel were reflected in Jared's eyes as he leaned in a little closer.

"Absolutely." Jensen closed the distance between them and slid his lips back and forth against Jared's.

Jared managed to sneak his fingers under Jensen's collar and the shock of the cold skin made Jensen suck in a quick breath. "Cold," he whispered into Jared's next kiss.

"You're warm," Jared breathed more than spoke against Jensen's lips. He shifted closer, one hand slipping down to tangle their fingers together and bring them close to his chest. The kiss was firm and persistent, hungry.

The Ferris wheel jerked to life again and swung wildly. Jensen laughed against Jared's mouth and tightened his grip on the man's hand. "Your twenty has worn off."

Sinking back slightly, Jared sighed happily. He brought their hands up to his lips and kissed each of Jensen's knuckles. "Well worth it."

Jensen couldn't stop looking at Jared's eyes. He loved the way they changed color all the time. It was impossible to decide what color they were although Jared always said they were green. There were beautiful flecks of gold in the irises, a small circle of brown then they faded out to blue.

"You're staring," Jared finally said. He smirked and tilted his head slightly.

"I like your eyes," Jensen answered.

"I like yours too, but I prefer your lips," Jared answered quietly.

The wheel continued to clank and grind its way back down. The sights and sounds of the Fair became brighter and louder. The crowd had grown as the evening went on and there were a lot of young couples lined up for the ride.

Jensen shifted back slightly and curled his fingers over the safety bar as they swung to a stop at the bottom of the ride.

Jared pushed the safety bar open when they reached the bottom of the ride. He stepped down onto the metal landing and held out his hand to help Jensen down.

There was a small group of teenage boys who were next in line and they laughed as Jensen took Jared's hand.

"Look, fags," Jensen heard as he headed past the small group.

"What did you say?" Jared asked dryly. He had stopped right in front of the boys, towering above them. He raised an eyebrow as he stared them down.

"Don't, Jared. They're not worth it," Jensen muttered. He tugged on Jared's sleeve and tried to get him to start walking again.

"Yeah," said a young, scrawny, blonde kid. "Listen to your _boyfriend_."

"There a problem here?" the older guy running the Ferris wheel had stepped into the crowd.

"Everything is fine," Jensen interjected. He stepped in front of Jared and grabbed his waist to maneuver him past the gate.

Jared hesitated for a few moments, glared at the teenagers one last time before turning away.

Sighing, Jensen let his head fall forward for a little while then followed Jared into the crowd. "Jared, wait up!"

At least it was easy to spot Jared in a crowd. He was always head and shoulders above everyone else.

Jogging a few steps, Jensen finally caught up to Jared and fell into step beside him. "Hey, where you runnin' off to? You promised me a corn dog."

"I think I wanna go home now," Jared murmured.

Reaching out, Jensen grabbed Jared's hand to pull him to a stop. "Jared, don't let some stupid teenage assholes ruin our night."

Looking off in the distance over Jensen's shoulder, Jared closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them once more he smiled at Jensen. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just… fuck. People like that really pisses me off. We weren't hurting them. It's like. It's like we bother them just by existing."

"I know. And it's really stupid and one day, hopefully, they will grow up and be smart enough to realize they are douchebags." Smiling as warmly as he could manage, Jensen reached up and cupped Jared's cheek. He brushed his thumb along Jared's perfect cheekbone. "Okay?"

"You're Jensen Ackles!" exclaimed a high, feminine voice from behind Jensen.

_Not now. Please not now._

Taking a deep breath, Jensen pulled his hand away from Jared and turned slowly.

The girls in front of him were looking equal parts embarrassed and thrilled. It was probably the worst timing ever.

The shortest girl, probably in her early twenties, flashed a bright, white smile at Jensen and flipped long, red hair back over her shoulders. She held up her phone and waved it back and forth a couple of times. “Could I get a photo? If you don't mind?"

The smile on Jensen's face was all work. He nodded and glanced at Jared with wide eyes quickly before gesturing for the girl to step in beside him. "Here, let me. I have longer arms."

The girl gladly handed over her phone and the selfie-taking began. Each of the girls wanted a photo and then they chatted briefly and decided they wanted a group shot. The redhead – Felicia – grinned at Jared. "Could you bodyguard take the photo?"

"Of course," Jensen said. "Do you mind, Jared?"

The instant Jensen looked over at Jared he realized the mistake he'd made. It wasn't even deliberate. It was just that he wanted it all to be over with. They were having a great time and then everything went off the rails.

By the time Jensen was paying attention to what was going on around him, the photo was taken and he and Jared were just standing there looking at each other as the crowd continued to move around them.

All the joy was gone from Jared's expression. His hands were jammed into the front pockets on his jeans, and he was just staring at Jensen as people continued to walk between them.

"Jared, I know what you're thinking-"

"You do?"

"I didn't correct her because I just wanted it all to be over." Jensen was jostled by another person walking past him and he walked up to Jared. "You know I hate that shit."

Jared's lips were a thin line as he looked down at the ground in front of him.

Jensen grabbed the front of Jared's jacket and tugged on it gently. "Hey. Look at me."

Very slowly, Jared looked up. When his eyes met Jensen's, he blew out a long, slow breath. "It's all good."

"No," Jensen said quickly. "it's not all good." Another person bumped into Jensen's shoulder and he let out a groan of frustration. "Let's get out of here."

"Whatever you want," Jared muttered.

Without waiting for anything else to go wrong, Jensen grabbed Jared's hand and pulled him towards the entrance gates.

-=-=-=-

The car was entirely too quiet once they were settled inside.

Jensen turned on his seat so he could get a better look at Jared. "Okay. So, I completely _get_ why you're bothered by what happened. But, the thing is – it was absolutely innocent."

"It's fine, Jensen." But, Jared didn't sound particularly fine. He sounded a little pissed off.

"I just wanted to get away from them. This evening was perfect until we got off that damn ride."

"Let's just go home… I mean to my place. If you want." Jared started the car but before he could put it in drive, Jensen grabbed his hand.

"Jared, we are _not_ going to end this night like this. You've gotta work with me here." Jensen slipped his fingers in between Jared's on the shifter. "Tonight, was great. Then we ran into a douchebag and I was too bothered by those girls ruining our date that I didn’t' do what I should have done."

"And what was that?" Perfectly still in his seat, Jared was just staring at the steering wheel.

"I should have said, _He's my boyfriend_ and told them to get lost," Jensen said quickly. "But…"

The _but_ got Jared's attention. He turned quickly and stared at Jensen. "But… what?"

"But, I felt really stupid calling someone who looks like you my _boyfriend_." Jensen brushed his thumb over the back of Jared's hand. "I've thought about it. And _partner_ makes me sound like some sort of hipster. _Boyfriend_ makes me sound like a hormonal teenager. I couldn't really figure out if there were other options. I mean, _lover_ sounds ridiculous."

A smile had crept onto Jared's face as Jensen was talking. "Partner is fine. I don't think it makes you sound like a hipster."

"Okay then," Jensen answered. "See? Everything's fine."

"Okay."

As Jared put the car in drive, Jensen sneaked another look at him and was pleased to see the smile still on his face.

-=-=-=-

Jensen woke up to Jared wrapped around him and his phone ringing _far_ too loudly. He groaned and untangled his arm so he could find the phone and kill it.

It was on Jared's nightstand and Jensen squinted at it. _Robard Speight Jr._ appeared on the screen. He had been Jensen's agent since he'd first started his career. He rarely phoned early unless something was up.

Jensen cleared his throat and took the call. "Rob? It's too early."

"Yeah, well, if I have to be awake and dealing with this then I feel like you should too."

Usually, Rob was a pretty laid-back guy, but he sounded stressed. That was a bad sign for eight in the morning.

"What's wrong?" Jared murmured against Jensen's shoulder.

Shrugging, Jensen switched the phone to his other hand. "What's up?"

There was a slight hesitation before Rob spoke again. "A fan took a photo of you, posted it on Instagram last night. You're kissing a man at the top of a Ferris wheel. Sound familiar?"

"What?" Jensen sat upright and Jared grunted as he was pushed to the side.

"I take it you haven't been on the internet this morning," Rob said glumly.

Jensen pressed his thumb and forefinger against his eyelids and groaned. "How bad is it?"

"Okay. First, it was a fan who posted it. Apparently, you were hot as fuck and your man is adorable."

"Fuck," Jensen said.

"What's wrong?" Jared was now wide awake and sitting up beside him.

"Is that _Mr. Adorable_?" Rob asked.

"His name is Jared." Jensen angled the phone away from his mouth then covered it with his hand. "Someone posted a photo of us last night."

"Okay." Jared shifted a little closer and slid his arm around Jensen's waist.

"Jensen?" Rob sounded a little confused.

"Yeah, sorry," Jensen said into his phone.

"Most of the fans don't seem to have an issue with it. And they're taking care of anyone who says anything negative," Rob said.

"Negative?" Jensen's mind was racing. There were so many people in his life who didn't know about him being gay, let alone that he was in a relationship.

Rob cleared his throat and it sounded like he moved his phone around. “Okay. Jensen? You _know_ I don’t have a problem with you being gay. Hell, I walked in the Pride parade with my kid.”

“Who _does_ have a problem with it?” Jensen could hear that Rob was building up to something.

“The studio isn’t thrilled.”

That’s exactly what Jensen was afraid of. “Why does it have anything to do with them?”

Jared reached over and rubbed Jensen’s thigh.

“Okay,” Rob began. “This isn’t what I think, but the studio reps feel that it doesn’t _fit_ with the image they’ve cultivated for a Hunter.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Jensen said quickly. “Dean Winchester is a less effective hunter if _I’m_ gay? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Rob said quickly. “Your agent, on your side, Jensen.”

“I know.” Jensen sighed and pushed the quilt away so that he could swing his legs out of bed. He rubbed at the tension that had suddenly appeared in the back of his neck. “How do we deal with this?”

“First, we have a meeting. You and I talk about what _you_ want to do. Then we talk to the studio Execs and find out what they have their shorts in a knot over.”

“Okay.” Jensen nodded and stood. He headed over to the chair where most of his clothes were draped. “Your office?”

“Yeah,” Rob answered. “I’ve got the coffee on.”

“I’ll be there in twenty.” Jensen ended the call and tossed his phone on the chair.

“What’s happening?” Jared’s voice had that _tight_ sound to it that he got when he was worried.

“I’m gonna go in and meet with Rob. We have to figure out how to handle this situation.” Pulling his jeans on, Jensen hopped a couple of times then bent down to pick his socks up from under the chair.

“Situation?”

“The _stupid_ Ferris wheel thing. The studio isn’t impressed.” As soon as Jensen pulled his t-shirt on, he realized it was inside out. “Fuck.”

Jensen yanked the shirt off and struggled with it for a few seconds before putting it back on. When he glanced over his shoulder at Jared, he did a double take. Jared actually looked pissed off. “What?”

“Last night, the Ferris wheel. Seemed like you really liked it. Today, it’s _stupid_. Good to know.” When he climbed out of bed, Jared almost knocked the lamp off the nightstand.

Closing his eyes, Jensen shook his head and took a deep breath. “Jared, I’m just pissed off-”

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.” Jared pulled his jeans on and turned to stare across the bed at Jensen.

Yet again, Jensen found himself with a whirlwind in his mind. It was like trying to jog, blindfolded through a minefield. “Jared, I didn’t mean what I said. Last night was terrific. _You_ are terrific. But, a photo is a big deal.”

“I know that, but I’m not a _situation_ , Jensen. Last night, I was your partner, today I’m a _situation_ that needs to be handled.” If the way Jared’s fists were clenched at his sides was any indication, he was pretty pissed off.

“Jared, you’re not a situation. But, the fact that I was just outed by some teenager on Instapaper-”

“- Instagram-”

“ _Whatever_... that is a situation. Jensen’s hands were shaking and he clasped them together tightly. “There are people in my family who don’t know… friends and I’ve been good with my money over the years but not good enough that I want to retire. I have to go to a _meeting_ to discuss my personal life like it’s… it’s some kind of distasteful political leaning. Now, are you getting dressed, or what?”

Panting slightly, Jensen rubbed his hand down his face then glared at Jared.

“What’s the big rush?” Jared snapped. He folded his arms across his bare chest and returned the glare with equal intensity.

“Well, you’re coming with me, aren’t you?” Jensen threw his hands up in frustration. Okay, they hadn’t been together _that_ long but it _really_ annoyed Jensen that Jared would think he wasn’t needed at the meeting.

“I didn't know that my presence was required,” Jared said wryly.

“Well, it is. If I’m going to have to suffer through talking about my personal life then you’re going to be there to suffer with me. You’re my damned partner.” Jensen’s voice was a little closer to yelling that he cared to admit.

“Fine, Jared said gruffly. He snatched his shirt up off the floor and pulled it on.

“Fine,” Jensen answered. His shoulders dropped as he realized how long the day was going to be. “We okay?”

Jared looked up and continued buttoning his shirt. His expression softened when he looked over at Jensen. He smiled slightly and walked over to the chair, picked up Jensen’s jacket and handed it to him. He nodded. “We’re okay.”

“Good, ‘cause yeah. Good.” Relief washed over Jensen and he sighed.

When Jared looked up there was a crooked smile on his face. “Let’s go to _our_ meeting.”

-=-=-=-


	12. Preaching To The Choir

Rob's office was too hot, and Jensen struggled out of his jacket before they sat down. "Rob, this is my partner, Jared. Jared? My agent, Rob."  
Jared and Rob shook hands and then everyone sat.

"Very tall," Rob muttered as he slid his chair closer to his desk.

Jared smirked and looked down to hide his smile.

"Jeez, I didn't even ask if you wanted coffee." Rob pushed his chair back again. "Yes?"

"I'll get it," Jared offered. He stood and watched as Rob pointed to the coffee machine then held up his own full mug.  
Jared trailed his hand over Jensen's shoulder as he headed over to the coffee pot.

"I've spoken to the producer," Rob began.

"And?"

Rob flipped back a page in his notebook. "They are concerned that your homosexuality has the potential to reflect negatively on the show. Dean’s lifestyle is so different… from your reality that they’re wondering how that will affect the fans perception. They're concerned that a lack of masculinity may reflect poorly on you when you're playing Dean Winchester."

There was a scoffing sound from behind Jensen, but he chose to ignore it. "Are they really going to pull that? In the first place, _my_ sexuality doesn't have any bearing on how masculine I am. I'm the same today as I was before they knew. And, I'm an _actor_. My character isn't me."

Jared set a mug off coffee down on the desk in front of Jensen then sat down.

Rob dropped his pen on his desk and took a sip of coffee. "You're preaching to the choir, Jensen. The fans have been supportive. Have you seen that photo?"

Shaking his head, Jensen glanced over at Jared. "We just headed straight here."

Rob pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. After a few seconds, he slid it across the desk towards Jensen.

A phone had never scared Jensen before. He finally picked it up and looked at the screen.

The photo wasn't at a great angle; it obviously came from below them in another car. But, it was _clearly_ Jensen. And, it was obvious that he was kissing a man. Apparently, denying it ever happened was out of the question.

"Nice photo," Jared said over the rim of his coffee mug.

Jensen shot him a look.

Jared shrugged.

"The way I see it," Rob began. "We have a few options. We can acknowledge the photo and move on from there. We can ignore the photo and continue status quo, but I doubt that will work for the studio. Or we can put out some kind of retraction."

Sputtering in his coffee, Jared sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Isn't it a little late for that? I mean, the photo is clear. Will some sort of denial work?"

"Denial?" Looking more than a little surprised, Jensen turned to look at Jared. "We're not going to deny it, are we?"

Shrugging, Jared reached forward to set his coffee down. "It's entirely up to you, Jen. Everyone I work with, my family, everyone knows that I'm gay."

"We're not _denying_ it. That's ridiculous." Jensen reached out and took Jared's hand. If this was a photo of a straight couple, it would be nothing more than a blip on the horizon.

Nodding, Jared squeezed Jensen's hand before looking back at Rob. "It seems we aren't denying it."

"You're both _absolutely_ certain you're good with this? Because we won't have a hell of a lot of control over this." Leaning forward slightly, Rob looked very serious.

When Jensen looked at Jared again, he shrugged. "I would have really liked to have had some control over this, but, I'm good with it. I… I am who I am. Jared?"

A warm smile on his face, Jared nodded. "I'm on board. Whatever you need from me, Jen. I'm in this for the long haul."

It made Jensen's cheeks heat up a little as the full impact of everything caught up with him. They were really going to do it.

"Okay." After a quick smile at Jared, Jensen turned back to Rob. "What do we do now?"

"You tell me what you're going to do, how you are going to handle this in your personal lives. Then we approach the studio and see what they have to say."

"And, what do you think that's likely to be?" Jensen couldn't help tightening his hold on Jared's hand.

Shrugging, Rob shook his head. "I'm really not sure. I mean, in a perfect world, it shouldn't' be an issue at all. But, when there's money involved, people get their shit in a knot."

"I guess we’ll just have to see how they respond," Jensen said. "Let's figure out how we're going to handle things."

-=-=-=-

It was simpler than Jensen had suspected to decide what course of action to take. When it came down to it, he just wanted to live his life like everyone else.

The only thing that was out of the ordinary was that Jensen agreed to let Rob set up an interview for him. It set his nerves on edge a little. It wasn't that he hadn't had a great deal of experience with the media; it just usually wasn't his _personal life_ that was the subject matter.  
It took a few days for Rob to set up an interview but finally one of the nightly entertainment magazines had been happy to put Jensen in front of their cameras.

The days leading up to the interview were a whirlwind for Jensen. In addition to his usual filming, there had been a meeting with the studio execs. It hadn't been fun at all, but the studio had, _very_ reluctantly, agreed that things could continue as they were, and they would re-evaluate over the summer hiatus. When Jensen pointed out that they couldn't legally let him go because of his sexual orientation, they responded that they had been considering canceling the show because of low ratings. Jensen knew that wasn’t true, but he would have a difficult time proving it; networks made decisions like that all the time.

After the meeting, Jared had been pretty angry. Rob had let him vent for a while, but he assured them that the network didn’t want to cancel, and they certainly didn’t want to lose Jensen. After all, the show wouldn't be much without Jensen as their lead. Rob's feeling was that it would blow over by the end of the summer.

The interview was downtown and Jensen enlisted Jared's help to get him there. He figured that if Jared was driving, Jensen would be less likely to just keep driving until he arrived in Mexico.

He was a wreck by the time they arrived at the studio and he'd never been more thankful for Jared's company. They headed inside with plenty of time for Jensen to get into make-up.

Jared had tagged along until it was almost time for filming and then he had to leave the set and sat down in the audience where he’d been saved a seat. The crowd of people didn’t look too threatening as Jensen cast his gaze over them. He smiled at a couple of young women who waved at him - probably fans - and he waved back briefly.

There was a chair waiting for him in the middle of the stage and that was about the time Jensen could feel the sweat beading between his shoulder blades. He tried to assure himself that it was just like every other interview he'd ever done, but it was a hard sell. He'd never had to talk about who he had in his life, or who he liked to have sex with. It was strange, and it was going to be really uncomfortable.

The host of the show, Emily Swallow slid into her chair across from Jensen and smiled vacantly at him. The Director in the sound booth came over the loudspeaker to tell everyone they were counting down, the studio lights were dimmed and then Jensen spotted fingers held up behind one of the cameras counting down: three, two, one.

Emily’s smile morphed instantly into a bright, onstage, grin full of white teeth. Jensen shuddered internally and licked his lips. He was ready, he _had_ to be ready; he had no other choice.

Emily waited until the applause died down. “Good morning, everyone! We have a great show lined up for you today. We’re starting off with our guest Jensen Ackles. He’s the star of the long-running show, Supernatural. A hunter who takes care of things that go bump in the night. Recently, though, Jensen has taken on a new battle. He’s decided that he wants to speak more openly about his personal life.” Emily's smile brightened almost impossibly, and the cameras pulled back. The smile on her face was almost rictus.

“And we’re clear,” called out a voice from behind the cameras.

“We’ll be back on in four minutes, Jensen,” said another voice. Jensen squinted as he looked around and tried to figure out who was speaking. All the voices seemed to be disembodied.   
After a few moments of looking around, he finally spotted Jared. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged a shoulder.

Smirking, Jared looked down, no doubt to hide the fact that he was amused. Jensen couldn’t really blame him.

People bustled around them for a few minutes and then the lights brightened again. Emily was grinning, and the fingers were back behind the camera again. _Three, two, one._

“Welcome, Jensen,” Emily began under the bright lights amidst dying applause. “Thanks for joining us today. I know that you have a busy filming schedule on Supernatural.”

“We sure do,” Jensen answered. “But, I get to work here in town so that’s great.” Sweat was prickling under the powder that was blotted on Jensen’s face.

“Let’s get right to it, shall we?” Emily grinned that vacant grin again and leaned in closer to Jensen as though she was interested. “One of the reasons that filming in town is good is because of your personal life.”

Jensen saw Jared rub a hand down his face out of the corner of his eye. So, it was going to be like that. “Yes, Emily. it’s a definite plus or I would be spending half my life on a plane.” 

Jensen was starting to freak out a little bit. How had he thought he could just blurt out, _I’m gay._

“And, are you seeing someone at the moment? A rather adorable photo of you surfaced on the internet over the weekend.”

Oh. _That_ was how he was going to blurt it out. Chuckling nervously, Jensen sat back in his chair and scratched his chin. “Yeah, my partner, Jared and I were at a fair on the weekend and someone snapped a shot of us together.”

“How long have you two been together?” Emily asked.

“A little while now.” Jensen was determined not to give away every detail about their lives. He wanted some things for himself. “Sometimes, you just _know_ that you’ve met the one.”  
Emily made the kind of noise a twelve-year-old girl might make upon seeing a puppy and Jensen had to bite his tongue to keep from rolling his eyes.

“I understand Jared is here today,” Emily said as she looked around doing a good impression of someone who didn’t actually know where Jared was.

Jensen was already shaking his head, but his instincts told him it was too late. He searched frantically for Jared through the glare of the studio lights.

“Let’s get him up here too,” Emily said. “Bob, can we get another chair?”

Just as though it hadn’t been fucking planned at all, a chair magically appeared beside Jensen as the audience began to applaud and whistle.

When Jared was led to the seat beside him, Jensen was equal parts relieved and horrified. He reached for Jared’s hand, then hesitated because he didn’t want to put him on the spot. He was relieved when Jared wove their fingers together. He hoped that his eyes conveyed how sorry he was that Jared had been dragged into the interview.

“Nice to meet you, Jared,” Emily said as she beamed at Jared.

Jensen just wanted to kick her.

“How did you two meet?”

Jared squeezed Jensen’s fingers slightly.

Jensen cleared his throat. “We were both out with friends. I picked up his jacket by mistake and he came after me.”

Turning to Jared, Emily tilted her head flirtatiously. “Did you know that Jensen was a celebrity when you met him?”

“I wouldn't say celebrity,” Jensen said quietly.

“All I knew was that he had beautiful eyes, freckles and seemed really sweet,” Jared said. He swept his hair off his forehead nervously.

“Adorable,” Emily said over the coos from the audience. She turned back to Jensen. “And you’ve decided to be public about your relationship-”

“-not really,” Jensen answered quickly. He wasn’t going to let her get away with anything else. “I’ve never really thought my personal life was something that had to be in the spotlight. But, when the photo was posted, the decision was kind of made for us. It wasn’t my intention to put Jared through anything like this.”

Emily didn’t even blink. “Is it difficult, Jared? Dating someone in the spotlight? You’re not in the industry yourself, are you?”

“Me?” Jared looked a little surprised. “No, I work, no. I’m not.”

“I’m sure Emily won’t mind us talking about the shelter, will you?” Flashing his best smile, Jensen winked.

“Of course not. Go ahead, Jared.”

Jared smiled at Jensen. “I work at Safe Haven. We rehabilitate animals for adoption. We’re located in midtown.” Jared looked more confident once he was talking about work.  
“And they’re always looking for donations,” Jensen added.

Emily wouldn’t be deterred. “When you go to pick up Jared at work do you have to deal with fans?”

Jensen smiled and looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back at Emily. “I’m just a guy going to pick up the man he loves from work. Pretty normal stuff.”

A sharp intake of breath made Jensen look at his partner. _Shit._ Great. God. What a time to say it.

“I mean-”

Jared leaned in and kissed Jensen’s cheek and Jensen was only vaguely aware of the collective _awww_ that came from the audience.

For the first time since they’d arrived, Jensen felt perfectly at ease. He knew he was blushing, but, fuck it, he was in love. “I mean…” he began again. “We just want to live our lives like everyone else.”

It was Emily who looked a little surprised. “Two men as attractive as yourselves, a romantic date at the top of a Ferris wheel. We should all be so lucky.”

The audience applauded, and Jensen looked at Jared out of the corner of his eye to find the man beaming at him. The blush on his cheeks intensified as he waited for the applause to die down.

“Jensen, let me ask you about work. What do the powers that be think about their lead actor coming out? Your character, Dean is quite a tough guy, a bit of a lady's man,” Emily said.

“Well, he is.” Jensen smiled even though he was beginning to feel a little stabby. “But, I'm an actor. The women on the show are fantastic. I think the studio is very forward thinking. They’ve been very positive about my decision to be more public. I can’t see any reason why that would affect the longevity of the show.”

When Jared looked over at Jensen, there was an amused glint in his eyes.

Jensen shrugged a shoulder as the audience applauded and cheered. It had come to him unexpectedly. He was sure Rob would give him grief for it later, but it seemed like a good idea. 

At least, it would give the studio execs something to chew on for a while.

“Well, I’m sure I speak for the fans when I say that we wish you the best both with the show _and_ with your relationship.”

There was a whoop from someone in the audience and then some laughter.

“More photos on Instagram?” Emily asked.

“We’ll see,” Jensen said.

“I’m sure I can persuade him,” Jared said brightly.

There was a loud round of applause and Emily did her outro for their segment. Jensen didn’t pay much attention because he was too busy looking at the _perfect_ smile on his partner’s face.

-=-=-=-


	13. I love you too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This feels like a type of ending... so what I'm going to do from this point forward is write time stamps. Some people have requested certain things - so I will write those :) Thanks for all the support

Jensen held up his wine glass towards Jared. It was his third glass and he was enjoying the woody taste of it. “Here’s to you and I, and our first Instagram post!”

Laughing, Jared raised his glass and clinked it against Jensen’s. “Here’s to many more.”

Grinning at his partner, Jensen took a sip of wine then set his glass down on the coffee table. “You know, you’re kind of amazing.”

They were sitting on either end of the couch, their legs tangled together in the middle.

Jared smiled as he set his own wine down. “Not that I’m disagreeing, but what did I do to deserve that?”

“You are putting up with all this craziness. I bet you didn’t figure when you brought me my jacket that night you’d end up on a talk show.”

“No,” Jared answered. “I must admit that was a bit of a surprise. But, I figure you’re _probably_ gonna be worth it.”

“Probably?” The smile on Jensen’s face was starting to make his cheeks ache. The week had turned but a lot better than he had expected.

After the talk show, there had been a flurry of calls that Rob had filtered for Jensen. He had done two more interviews in person and one by phone. Then he’d headed back to work. Filming had gone smoothly, they’d even wrapped early enough on Friday that Jensen had been able to join Jared for dinner.

They had set the table, poured the wine and taken a selfie. Jared had the perfect arms for taking selfies. They posted the photo on their newly created Instagram account. They’d settled on _JaredAndJensen_ as their alias name.

The fans of the show had begun referring to them online as _J2_. Jensen thought it was weird but Jared seemed to think it was cute. Regardless, a cute moniker was a good sign that the fans of the show were supportive. _That_ was good news.

“Hey,” Jared said.

“Sorry. I was thinkin’ about how crazy this week _could_ have been.”

“C’mere.” Jared held out his arms.

“You and I on this couch together is impossible,” Jensen muttered. But, he knelt between Jared’s legs then managed to lie down _mostly_ on top of his partner.

Jared grunted and shifted beneath Jensen.

“Happy now? Told ya.”

There was nothing but happiness on Jared’s face. “There’s no one I would rather be sharing a couch with.”

Jensen collapsed on Jared’s chest. One of the things he loved about Jared was his size. He made Jensen feel like the _small_ guy which was pretty unusual for him.

He got comfortable, his nose against Jared’s cheek and so he could kiss him. “I’m finally starting to believe this might all work out.”

“That’s good. ‘Cause I’m not goin’ anywhere.” Jared murmured into Jensen’s hair.

“The media stuff,” Jensen said softly. “You, I already knew I was keeping.” Really? He’d known it far sooner than he cared to admit. There was something perfect about Jared. Their lives fit together as though they’d known each other for years.

“By the way,” Jared said in an almost-whisper. “I love you, too.”

-=-=-=-

When you’re six feet tall, you don’t expect to be manhandled. There was something incredibly hot about the way Jared would get _so_ demanding and possessive with Jensen.

Physically, they were a good match. Jensen worked out a lot for the show and Jared worked out because he enjoyed it. The result was two men who could manhandle each other. Jensen _let_ Jared take over most of the time. It was hot. Besides, Jensen played a tough guy all week at work. He was happy to let Jared control whatever the hell he wanted to.

“There’s too much thinking going on in that head of yours,” Jared said. He slipped his arms under Jensen’s and hauled him onto his lap.

Jensen got comfortable on his partner’s strong thighs. He was already naked, he’d just been daydreaming while Jared showered.

About half an hour earlier, Jared had been on his knees with Jensen fucking into his mouth. It had made Jensen’s entire body tingle. Then Jared had pulled back and stroked Jensen until he spilled all over his lover’s face.

Now, Jensen didn’t consider himself to be a prude or anything, but he’d never thought he’d be the kind of man who wanted to see beads of come caught on his partner’s lashes.

It turned out he was _exactly_ that kind of guy. He’d felt a second wave of pleasure at the sigh and sunk to his knees to kiss Jared hungrily.

“I was thinking about you,” Jensen said. He slid his hands into Jared’s hair then kissed his forehead.

“Good.” the smile on Jared’s face was pure bliss. He was relaxed and happy. He sighed and leaned back against the pillows, taking Jensen with him.

They lay there for a while, quite, Jensen listened to the sound of Jared's strong heartbeat. “What are we doing tomorrow?”

“Nothing,” Jared said into Jensen’s hair. “Unless you can do it from here.”

Laughing, Jensen leaned back slightly. “Here as in the bed or _this_ position exactly?”

“Did you have somewhere else you’d rather be?” The smug look on Jared’s face gave away the fact that he had no doubt what Jensen’s answer would be.

“Nowhere I’d rather be. Can we get food delivered to the bedroom?” Jensen couldn’t stop combing his fingers through Jared’s hair.

“I’m sure Daniel would bring us something if you asked.” A mischievous grin sneaked onto Jared’s face.

As happy as Jensen was, he felt a slight nip of jealousy. “Over my dead and mangled body. I’d rather ask Daneel.”

It was Jared’s turn to laugh as he slid his arms around Jensen’s waist. “She’d never leave… and she stares a lot. It’s a little disturbing.”

“She thinks we're hot together.” Jensen shrugged.

“We _are_ hot together.” Jared’s lips pressed against Jensen’s and he smiled against them.

When he pulled back reluctantly, Jensen stared into Jared’s eyes. “I guess we starve then.”

“Like Romeo and Juliet.”

Jensen snorted. “Only, they didn’t die of starvation and there’s no Juliet.”

“Fussy, fussy.” Jared let his head rest back. “When you gonna take me to work, show me off.”

“You really want to do that?”

“‘Course. I’d like to get to know your friends.” Jared closed his eyes as his hands continued moving over Jensen’s back.

“You might get photographed. There are always fans or paps there.” Work would be more exciting than ever now that Jensen had officially come out. He wasn’t worried about the crew but he was pretty sure the local photographers would be trying to get exclusive pics of him doing something… _gay_.

“Paps?”

“Paparazzi.”

“I keep forgetting I'm seeing a celebrity,” Jared said quietly. His fingers dug into the cheeks of Jensen’s ass and pulled him closer.

“I knew I loved you for a reason.”

When Jared’s eyes opened they were dark again and he licked his lips. “You tired?”

Shaking his head, Jensen leaned down and kissed Jared.


End file.
